On February 16th, Year 863 of the Gao Wu Calendar, Seventh Ecological Sphere, Liang City.
Ethan Chen, as usual, had just finished a thirty-kilometer jog — his warm-up exercise every morning after getting up. As a senior student at Liang City No.1 High School preparing for the college entrance exam, Ethan was very strict with himself. He always completed school assignments double the required amount — though this didn't include his cultural courses.
[Master! 35 minutes remaining until the 9:00 AM Literature and History exam.]
A sweet female voice came from the smart wristband on Ethan's left wrist.
"Xiao Xiong! Calculate the route and time to the exam venue," Ethan said, pulling a pack of energy milk from his backpack, biting the seal, and squeezing it into his mouth.
"Xiao Xiong" was the name Ethan gave to his smart wristband. It mainly recorded his habits and provided corresponding assistance. In the AI era, no transportation had fixed routes. Big data allocated vehicles reasonably based on population flow.
[1: (Recommended) Low-altitude route: Take the SkyFly Line 5 to "Liang City No.1 High School," estimated time 5 minutes 36 seconds, cost: 30 yuan.][2: Underground route: Take Subway Line 48 to "Nanmenling," transfer to Line 72 to "Liang City No.1 High School," estimated time 15 minutes 52 seconds, cost: 3 yuan.]
Ethan looked at the wristband prompt and without hesitation said, "2." It wasn't that he couldn't afford the SkyFly — the subway was just more cost-effective.
[Route planned... Please walk 278.26 meters left, then take the elevator down to the boarding point...]
Liang City No.1 High School covered an area about 200 football fields in size. All classrooms were separated, so even students at the school often needed navigation assistance. As the city's only key high school, it was a sacred place for many students and parents.
The elite "Hongzhi Class" was especially outstanding, producing top students every year who were admitted to the nation's eight most prestigious universities. The "Hongzhi Class" was a so-called elite class, symbolizing lofty ambitions!
A week ago, the school suddenly opened one more spot in the Hongzhi Class. All regular senior students could participate. The exam simulated the college entrance test, including both cultural exams and martial arts assessments. The student with the highest total score would earn a place in the Hongzhi Class — that is, Senior 3 Class 1!
Following the wristband's navigation, Ethan quickly found his exam room in Senior 3 Class 6.
To ensure maximum fairness, exam seating was arranged according to smart wristband data, placing students who normally had no contact with each other in the same classroom. Since they didn't know each other, the classroom was relatively quiet. Except for a few chatty social butterflies whispering, most students sat with eyes closed, resting before the exam.
There were two and a half minutes left before the exam started. Ethan idly propped his chin on one hand and looked around the room.
On the blackboard, a digital sign displayed boldly:"120 days until the college entrance exam!"Below was an inspiring message:"Those who chase the light will eventually shine brilliantly!"
This phrase had encouraged countless hardworking seniors through endless days and nights — Ethan was no exception.
At exactly 9:00, a "click" sounded as the classroom door automatically closed. Latecomers would be scored zero immediately.
Simultaneously, exam papers appeared on the desk screens with electronic pens.
Ethan picked up the pen and calmly started reading the questions.
1: Briefly describe the current world background and the starting date of the Gao Wu Calendar.
The literature and history exam, the last cultural exam, was not the hardest subject — in fact, it was the simplest of all cultural courses. Its purpose was to give students essential knowledge about the world.
Answer:In the year 2842 of the Old Era, an unknown cosmic fluctuation appeared deep in the universe. The nine major planets, including Mercury, Mars, and Earth, mysteriously merged into one giant irregular sphere, which we named Blue Star. Afterwards, alien races from Mercury, Mars, Venus... began invading. Humanity retaliated with nuclear weapons. Two years later, nuclear war led to a devastating defeat, with over 5 billion deaths. Under global nuclear radiation, humans broke biological limits and began evolving. On August 27, 2860 Old Era, all adults reached life intensity level 2. That day marked the end of the Old Era and the beginning of the New Era, named the Gao Wu Calendar starting date.
2: What was the life intensity level of adult males in the Old Era?
Answer: 0.5 level.
The literature and history exam tested rote memorization skills — something Ethan was particularly good at.
Fifty minutes later, Ethan submitted his exam. Even language exams were instantly graded by AI in seconds.
Two seconds later... 100, full score.
Scoring 90 in literature and history was easy, but getting 100 was extremely difficult — your answer had to match the textbook punctuation perfectly.
Ethan smiled slightly at the electronic score — no surprise. His perfect score was thanks to his extraordinary memory.
In middle school, Ethan often had headaches but never told his parents because of their poor financial situation. He always told himself it would get better.
On the first day of high school, Ethan suddenly grabbed his head and fainted on the playground. Medical checkups showed all physical indicators were normal.
The school doctor attributed it to study stress and advised Ethan to balance work and rest.
As a key high school, several students experienced similar symptoms every year — the doctor was used to it.
Since that day, every time Ethan fell asleep, he automatically entered a strange space.
Inside was a two-meter tall blue crystal standing alone on a concave stone slab. Around it, including the sky, was thick pale fog with no visible thickness.
Monsters that Ethan had never seen in textbooks would emerge from the fog. Their unified goal: destroy the crystal.
Even if Ethan killed them all, more waves would come every 30 seconds — second wave, third wave...
If the crystal was destroyed first, Ethan would be weak all day. If he died protecting the crystal, he would instantly wake up full of energy.
Ethan called this strange place the "Crystal Space."
For the past two and a half years, every time he fell asleep, he was forced to start "defending the crystal."
The cultural exam lasted at least an hour before leaving.
Bored, Ethan glanced at his mental virtual panel:
Name: Ethan ChenLife Intensity: Level 5.1Mental Strength: Level 5Punch Power: 1000 jin (approx. 500 kg)Speed: 20 meters/secondMartial Skill: Flowing Light Sword Technique (Stage 1) 89%Defense Waves: 4/5 (incomplete), 4/10 (incomplete), 4/15 (incomplete), 4/20 (incomplete), 4/25 (incomplete), 4/30 (incomplete), 4/35 (incomplete)
Life Intensity level increases by 6 grants one "evolution." Next evolution in 0.9 levels.
The virtual panel appeared with the Crystal Space and its sole function was to display real-time data so Ethan could clearly feel his progress.
As for what meeting conditions in defense waves and life intensity would bring, Ethan was not sure — because he had met none yet!
The only thing he was certain of was: each successfully defended wave would increase his Mental Strength by one level.
Before becoming a martial artist, mental strength was generally level 1.
Ethan's exaggerated memory came from his mental strength being far ahead of other students.
After a while, the exam screen turned green.
Ethan stood up and left the exam room, heading to the martial arts room.