“It really has been a long time...” Zhu Yue looked at the ten or so people in front of her. After some persuasion and invitations, they became the dozen-plus people who made up the team’s initial lineup.

“...You feel the same way, Zhu Yue?” The boy in front of her was sturdily built. His broad face and slightly enlarged pores made him look much older.

“After all, I spent three years with you, but only one with my high school classmates. I know you all much better than I know them... And there’s someone I know here, though you might not recognize her now.” Zhu Yue shifted aside helplessly, revealing the little girl hiding behind her...

“Who’s this...?” The eyes of nearly a dozen people all fixed on Yueye. She didn’t dare look up.

“This is Yueye... I’ve confirmed it.” Zhu Yue nudged Yueye forward...

“You’re not kidding, right? You’re telling me this is Yueye?” A pretty girl spoke in a tone that made it clear she wouldn’t believe it for a second.

“I’m not kidding.” Zhu Yue looked troubled too.

“My deskmate may have a girl’s name, but he’s definitely a guy. Sure, he has delicate features and fair skin, but you’re obviously a girl! And a really pretty one, too.” The girl looked utterly unconvinced. She’d sat beside Yueye for three years—if Yueye were standing right there, there was no way she wouldn’t recognize her.

“Yueye, explain it yourself...” Zhu Yue glanced helplessly at the one-and-a-half-meter-tall “little girl” behind her.

“Um... I don’t know why I turned out like this either... If you don’t believe me... I can tell you things about yourselves to prove who I am.”

“How about a question? Who did you confess to before?” the girl asked Yueye with a smile. The tips of her ears had turned faintly red.

“...My deskmate...” Yueye’s voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s, and her face looked ready to catch fire.

“All right, all right. We get it... Let’s focus on what to do next and go over the intel.” Zhu Yue looked at the strange atmosphere and promptly cut in.

“All right, that’s not our main concern right now... Everyone, check your stats first. Since we’ve all ended up here, we should form a team... I’ve already sent you the invitations.” Su Lin, who used to be the class organizer, spoke up. Her leadership skills were something else. She’d always been like that, and she still was.

“I checked the team settings. The system caps a team at twenty members, so our dozen or so should fit just fine...” Su Lin added. “First, check your profiles, then report your so-called reward points. They’re probably the same for everyone, but we should confirm anyway...”

【Open Status Panel.】 Yueye thought to herself... It was her first time opening the panel.

【You have three new messages...】 Yueye looked at the information icon in the upper-left corner of the system interface... The moment she thought about opening it, the message window popped up by itself.

【Dear contestant, welcome to the Ancient Forest. The system has granted you 100 exchange points. For details on how to use them, please visit the Exchange Shop.】 That was the first message. Then Yueye noticed a few characters in the upper-right corner of her status panel: Exchange Points: 1,100...

【So your name is Yueye... Here are the 1,000 reward points I promised you. Since you’re already from this world, what can I say... I’m just too kind.】 Yueye read the second message with a deeply troubled look...

【Su Lin has invited you to join a team. Yes/No】 Yueye tapped Yes, then looked at her personal information panel. Su Lin had just said they needed to compile everyone’s information...

【Contestant: Yueye

Gender: Female

Race: Unknown

Measurements: Unknown

Height: 1.50 m

Age: 14

Exchange Points: 1,100

Strength: 18

Agility: 26

Intelligence: 98

Level Assessment: Lv. 3 (One point is equivalent to the strength of an average adult; the same applies to Agility and Intelligence.)】 Yueye finished reading and immediately lost her cool... A fourteen-year-old body... that could take on twenty adults...

“Looks like everyone’s joined...” Su Lin checked the member count—14/20—and opened the team menu. “Let’s report our information in team-list order... Liu Haimeng, you’re first. Remember to say your name before you report.” Su Lin’s leadership skills were truly impressive. Born into a family of senior executives, she’d always been calm under pressure—so calm it could seem almost frightening to outsiders.

“Liu Haimeng. 100 reward points. Strength: 1.3, Agility: 0.7, Intelligence: 0.6...”

“Du Shengjie. 100 reward points... Strength: 1, Agility: 0.6, Intelligence: 1.”

........

Everyone reported their information one by one. At last, it was Yueye’s turn...

“Yueye. 100 reward points. Strength: 0.7, Agility: 0.7, Intelligence: 0.8.” Yueye gave her report, still not planning to tell the truth... Being honest probably wouldn’t end well...

Su Lin listened and took notes... Once everyone had finished, she looked at Yueye. “Your stats are a little high for this body, aren’t they...? I thought you’d be holding us back.” Su Lin watched Yueye with suspicion. She didn’t think a little girl whose body hadn’t even finished growing should have stats like these.

“I don’t know either, but I can guarantee that the stats I reported are accurate.” Yueye tilted her little head and looked at Su Lin with ocean-blue eyes.

“All right... Everyone starts with 100 reward points. I just checked our system. Since the team’s only just formed, I can’t make a proper plan yet... My suggestion is that those with low stats exchange for essential supplies, those with high Agility get handguns, and those with high Strength... should get melee weapons. If we can’t use firearms, we’ll be sitting ducks. Who knows what’s in this forest...” Su Lin apologized to Yueye, then shared her thoughts. Afterward, she quietly waited to see if anyone had questions. It was her habit—if someone had a question, she’d usually answer it.

“A hundred points...” Yueye looked at the stats panel... It was her first time opening the equipment menu. It was full of all kinds of things to eat, wear, and use.

“Beginner’s Handgun: 50 points. Ammo: 1 point per round.” What a rip-off... Once she’d set aside points for food, clothes, and other necessities, she could only afford one handgun and fifty bullets.

“Beginner’s Iron Sword: 30 points (includes the Iron Sword Basic Innate Skill)... Beginner’s Axe: 40 points (includes the Axe Basic Innate Skill)... Beginner’s Dagger: 10 points (includes the Dagger Basic Innate Skill)... Beginner’s Spear: 70 points (includes the Spear Basic Innate Skill)... Beginner’s Long Saber: 30 points (includes the Basic Saber Technique Innate Skill).”

“Helt’s Windward Sword: 90 points... Description: A sword issued to the knights of the Kingdom of Helt. Its distinctive slender blade gives it several special effects... +0.7 Strength, +0.3 Agility, Weight: 0.7... Requires 0.8 Strength to use; otherwise, the weight will cause fatigue... (Includes the Kingdom of Helt’s Knight Swordsmanship.)”

“Life Spray: Heals the user’s wounds. 120 exchange points.”

“Low-Grade Antidote: Can cure some relatively simple poisons. 120 exchange points.”

The more Yueye read, the darker the lines on her forehead grew. She didn’t dare look any further down the list... Take that thing called a Star Destroyer, for example... The string of zeroes after the nine was enough to make her scalp go numb...

Before long, the balance in the upper-right corner had dropped to 1,000 points. A streamlined, pale-green rapier and an ordinary-looking dagger appeared in Yueye’s hands... Helt’s Windward Sword and a beginner’s dagger were her final choices. With 18 Strength, she’d naturally considered which options gave her the best value... She wouldn’t touch those 1,000 exchange points unless it was an emergency. They weren’t something she wanted to draw attention to... The moment she took the sword, Yueye felt something new appear in her mind: fragments of memories about how to use a sword. She swung it a few times, and was surprised by how familiar it felt... That feeling puzzled her.

“Is everyone about ready...?” Su Lin’s call from nearby interrupted Yueye’s thoughts. She clapped her hands, signaling for everyone to gather around her...

“Since we’re a team, I suggest that we manage our resources together. Of course, we can discuss that after we’ve gotten to know each other a little better. For now, let’s make a list of what we’ve exchanged. That way, we can assign roles and distribute supplies... If nobody has any objections, put the things you’ve exchanged in the middle. If you do have an objection, tell me.” Su Lin glanced at Zhu Yue. As one of the core members of the team that used to manage the class, Zhu Yue would be the first to speak up if she disagreed with this approach.

—A few minutes later—

“Thanks for cooperating, everyone.” The others were already used to their class organizer’s arrangements, so naturally nobody objected. That was the spirit of City No. 5 Middle School’s top graduating class. After all, hardly any class at their age could match how they stuck together when things got tough.

“Nine handguns... three swords, two blades... three daggers. 450 rounds of ammunition. Remaining points... 240... Not bad... It’s a shame that Life Spray costs 120 points per bottle... Even a map costs 500.” Su Lin gritted her teeth. The prices of all these items weighed heavily on her. She’d taken on the responsibility of managing the team, and with it, the pressure of the whole group.

“In that case... Get ready. We’re leaving...” Su Lin looked around. Some of the people in the forest clearing had already left, but most were still hesitating; some hadn’t even formed teams yet. There was no point staying here. They’d only be wasting time.

“We’re leaving now?” Zhu Yue asked Su Lin, seeking confirmation. There were still quite a few people left around them, and Zhu Yue was still a little uncertain.

“That person just said we only get reward points for killing monsters... We can make a reasonable guess: the monsters near a safe zone are usually low-level. With resources limited, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get ahead. As for rescue, I’m certain we’re not on Earth anymore... There are plenty of signs pointing that way.” Su Lin explained her reasoning.

“All right. You make a good point.” Zhu Yue nodded in agreement.

“Does anyone else have any objections?” Zhu Yue looked around at the others. Everyone shook their heads.

“Then get ready. We’re leaving.” Su Lin nodded to Zhu Yue in thanks.

The fourteen of them slowly left the forest clearing where several thousand high school students had gathered, then cautiously stepped into the woods. As they left, Yueye looked back at the clearing and suddenly felt a pang of sadness, like a child leaving home. She had no one to rely on, and the unknown frightened her. She understood that from this moment on, her fate had changed. There was no going back.