"Seventeen?!"Li Ling's voice shot up by eight decibels.Even the driver glanced at Gu Ning through the rearview mirror, stealing a quick look.It wasn't that Gu Ning looked old, but he was so composed—mature in his demeanor and steady in his actions—that he gave off none of the restless energy of a teenager, making it easy for others to overestimate his age.Li Ling muttered under her breath, "You're only seventeen? I'm twenty-seven! When you were playing with mud in kindergarten, I was already solving trigonometric functions..."Gu Ning didn't really mind the age gap between him and Li Ling—perhaps because his mental age was more mature, he was perfectly fine with older women. In the Flesh Plague: Origins dimension, even Aunt Qin was in her thirties.It seemed that psionic particles had the effect of prolonging youth. Many male Awakened could still, well, be vigorous at seventy or eighty; as for women, even more so—Qin in her thirties still had tight, smooth skin and a beautiful face, outshining girls in their prime.After confirming that he could indeed take the college entrance exam, Gu Ning shifted the topic:"Just now Wu Chen mentioned that heart—it's stored in the 'Boundary Zone' controlled by the Superstellar Alliance... What exactly is the Boundary Zone?"Li Ling snapped back to focus, letting out a long sigh. "The Boundary Zone... that's what the Awakened streamers like to call a 'Mystic Realm'.""Oh!" Gu Ning instantly understood.On Earth, too, there were mystic spaces filled with all kinds of monsters and exotic treasures.Some Awakened streamers, in order to gain fame in the real world, would risk entering these mystic realms while live-streaming or recording videos to rack up views and followers.Li Ling explained, "The Boundary Zone is actually where the Spirit Realm overlaps with reality—a one-way passage from the Spirit Realm into our world. At the dawn of the psionic era, the Spirit Realm's creatures invaded Earth through these zones. But as Earth's psionic civilization progressed and the strength of the Awakened as a whole improved, many Boundary Zones were brought under control."One-way passage.Gu Ning locked onto those four words.For Awakened wanting to enter the Spirit Realm, there was only the option of a 'ticket'. The Boundary Zone's passage couldn't be used to travel into the Spirit Realm from here."Which Boundary Zones does the Superstellar Alliance control? Can we find out exactly where that heart is kept?" Gu Ning asked."What are you planning?" Li Ling was a little startled. "Don't do anything rash. You're still too weak right now.""I'm just asking." Gu Ning smiled innocently.Li Ling gave a helpless sigh. "The list of Boundary Zones under Superstellar Alliance control is public information—you can find it easily in the database. But as for the exact location of the heart, that's classified; neither you nor I have the clearance to access it."Screech!The jeep pulled up in front of a spacious and grand estate on the outskirts of the city."We're here. This is the Shen Ce Army's Xi City branch base." Li Ling patted Gu Ning's shoulder. "Get out, kid... Welcome to the world of the Awakened!"...Shen Ce Army, Xi City Hall.Gu Ning stepped into the wide hall. It was quiet inside, with few people around.A petite girl with twin ponytails was typing furiously at a keyboard at the front desk."Xiaoxiao, I've brought a new recruit—the one who signed the contract today." Li Ling handed over a contract and introduced Gu Ning, "This beauty is Su Xiaoxiao, receptionist for the Xi City branch.""Hello, hello! You're Gu Ning, right? So handsome, really handsome! Welcome to the Shen Ce Army!" Su Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled. Her face was small, and when she smiled, a delicate dimple appeared on her left cheek.Li Ling was speechless. "Xiaoxiao, stop pretending to be younger. Gu Ning here is only seventeen—half your age!""Huh?""Uh?"Both Su Xiaoxiao and Gu Ning exclaimed in surprise at the same time.In Gu Ning's eyes, Su Xiaoxiao's figure, face, and style of dress all looked like that of a girl around fifteen or sixteen—a middle schooler at most.Yet Li Ling was telling him Su Xiaoxiao was in her thirties!"Li Ling! You exposed me again." Su Xiaoxiao glared at Li Ling fiercely, then glanced at Gu Ning a little sheepishly, lowering her head. "Gu Ning... little brother, your gaze is too sharp, like my college counselor's... I slipped and called you older by mistake.""Just call me Gu Ning." Gu Ning didn't even know how to respond to being called little brother."No way, I'm calling you Little Gu Ning. I'm so much older than you!" Su Xiaoxiao puffed up her chest and spread her hands wide to show the age gap. At first, she'd called him 'Gege' just to tease the handsome newcomer."Xiaoxiao, register him and explain the Shen Ce Army's system. Oh, and he's my pick for the second phase of the Genius Camp—don't forget the perks."Li Ling flopped onto a couch in the hall, picking up a copy of The Rise and Fall of the Aztecs."Got it, no problem!" Su Xiaoxiao snuck another look at Gu Ning's face, feeling quite cheerful....Su Xiaoxiao's role in the Xi City branch was significant—besides being receptionist, she also handled logistics for the entire Jiangnan district and managed honor points and military supply exchanges.
In the Shen Ce Army, military supplies weren't exchanged for Huaxia coins or psionic points—only honor points counted.Members could earn honor points by hunting monsters in the wild zones, selling Spirit Realm intel, completing mission commissions, and so on.For example, a D-rank mission commission offered a base reward of 100 honor points—usually tedious, low-risk tasks suitable for low-level Awakened.C-rank missions had a base of 300 honor points and involved low-intensity combat, posing a higher risk to the inexperienced.B-rank missions started at 1000 honor points and were off-limits to low-level Awakened. Higher up, A-rank missions offered several thousand honor points at minimum, with much greater difficulty.Earning honor points was like holding in your pee, but spending them was like water flowing out—easy and fast.A basic low-grade standard weapon cost 100 honor points.Learning a skill—just a basic one-star skill—started at 100 honor points, and rarer one-star skills could cost several times that.Two-star skills started at 1000 honor points; legendary three-star skills started at 10,000 honor points!So what about rookies who'd just Awakened, with no strength to earn points yet? The Shen Ce Army didn't allow members to trade honor points among themselves.To help with this, the Army offered a humane system: each member had a "credit limit"—they could borrow honor points to boost their strength first, then repay the debt through missions.The credit limit depended on strength. The stronger you were, the higher your limit. Gu Ning, currently level 1 and an elite reinforcement type, had a limit of 300 honor points—the same as a standard level-3 template member.The Shen Ce Army was inclusive, accepting standard-template Awakened of any strength. After all, templates weren't fixed; exploration of the Spirit Realm was full of surprises. A standard profession today might become an elite or hero type after a single mission.Since benefits were tied to strength, and honor points had to be earned through hard work, the Army wasn't going to pour resources into someone for free.Su Xiaoxiao showed Gu Ning the available supplies within his clearance level.Even that was impressive. Gu Ning had to admit, this military-backed organization's stockpile was overwhelming—equipment, items, skill books, all dazzling in variety."You're in the second phase of the Genius Training Camp that Li Ling recommended, so you qualify for a special benefit," Su Xiaoxiao said, clicking on the computer to display it.
[Token of the Stowaway: C+ grade item. Allows the holder to forcibly exit the Spirit Realm and return to the real world, bypassing main mission requirements. Requires 10 seconds of preparation, and no native inhabitants may witness the activation.]