Setting Out

It was a perfectly ordinary morning.

Ren Yi struggled to prop himself up in bed, letting out a long yawn and a lazy stretch.

Nearly a week had quietly slipped by since he obtained the "Pain Mask Bead" and endured that agonizing cycle of being blown to bits and pieced back together at school.

By now, he had fully recovered, having adjusted his condition back to its absolute peak.

After a simple change of clothes, he pushed open the bedroom door and walked out.

Flap, flap—

On the balcony, the sleek-feathered cockatoo heard the movement and immediately flapped its wings, swooping down to land steadily on Ren Yi's shoulder.

"Good morning, Mr. Ren Yi!"

"Haa... Good morning, Classmate Wang."

Ren Yi gave a casual response.

Parading around with a cockatoo that had gained sentience in front of a crowd of unawakened "children" would be far too conspicuous.

Therefore, he had never brought Wang Zhixin with him to school over the past few days.

However, the parrot was far from bored during the days Ren Yi was away.

At the very least, from what Ren Yi knew, Wang Zhixin spent every day at the entertainment city, chatting up the owner of the gardening shop there. He had even joined some bizarre "Organic Eco-Self-Circulating Agriculture Group" and was living a very fulfilling life.

At that moment, the kitchen door slowly opened, and Ren Man walked out carrying two bowls of steaming noodles.

A plate of fresh cherry tomatoes sat on the dining table—a breakfast side to provide some dietary fiber, and also the specific rations prepared for Wang Zhixin.

Although Wang Zhixin's cockatoo body was merely a puppet, it still required a continuous supply of energy.

Eating was its primary way of maintaining the puppet's structure and stabilizing its energy supply.

Two Anomalies and one bird bowed their heads in silence and quickly set to work on breakfast.

While slowly eating his noodles, Ren Man spoke up tonelessly. "Leaving today?"

Ren Yi nodded slightly with a mouthful of noodles.

Wang Zhixin, who was currently gnawing on half a cherry tomato, lifted his small head upon hearing this, his eyes full of anticipation. "Are you really not taking me along? I can help."

Ren Yi slurped his noodles and gave a helpless refusal. "Thanks for the offer, Classmate Wang, but I'll pass."

"You fall under the high-risk category of 'Irreversible Consequences.' It's too risky."

The Alliance rules were cold and realistic.

In an Instance that was not one's own exclusive domain, once "death" occurred, all equipment and materials carried would be lost forever.

The exclusive NPCs and puppets that accompanied a person were also classified under this rule.

If he brought Wang Zhixin to this unknown exam, the risk would skyrocket.

The worst-case scenario would be getting accidentally trapped in a foreign world with no way back.

It would be just like when he had accidentally entered the Three Cities World and encountered Azure, left entirely without support.

Ren Yi himself had no such worries. If he truly reached a dead end, he could simply choose to end his own life and rely on the 【Death】 mechanism to force a return to the Alliance respawn point.

But Wang Zhixin couldn't.

If this parrot died in an outside world, it would be a true demise, and it would never return.

Even if its abilities were practical enough to provide a safety net in a crisis, it had to stay home and guard the house.

After breakfast, Ren Yi set down his chopsticks and wiped the corner of his mouth.

"I'm heading out."

"Mm." Ren Man nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on Ren Yi with a calm and solemn gaze.

Ren Yi found this look strangely familiar.

After a moment of thought, he realized it was exactly the same way Ren Man had looked at him before he entered the room to take that damn Professional Allocation Test.

Ren Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

Being a university student was great. Even at the assessment stage, he could still run into such a strong sense of déjà vu; it was truly wonderful.

Under Ren Man's quiet watch, Ren Yi left the residence empty-handed and light-footed.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and the weather was fine. He walked briskly and soon arrived at school, heading straight for the office, where he indeed found Ms. Zhang.

Once the assessment application had been approved, Ren Yi discovered that the person in charge of their batch of examinees was still his old acquaintance, Ms. Zhang.

What could he say? Once a teacher, always a safety net.

"Teacher, I'm here," Ren Yi said as he pushed the door open.

In the office, Ms. Zhang was buried in work, sighing as she graded exam papers.

The countless eye patterns covering her dress had all migrated restlessly to her arms and chest, allowing them to look directly at the papers on the desk.

Every single eye was wide and round, filled with the exhaustion of being tortured by students' answers.

Sensing someone enter, Ms. Zhang immediately reined in her emotions and adjusted her demeanor, looking up with a gentle smile.

"Ah, Ren Yi. You're quite early."

Ren Yi quietly released his perception and glanced at the thick stack of exam papers on the desk. The dense, stinging red circles and crosses made his eyes ache as if he had been stung.

Poor Ms. Zhang. It seemed that even for an Anomaly, becoming an Alliance teacher meant they couldn't avoid the fate of grading papers and being driven mad by the little brats under them.

Come to think of it, even after they awakened, the "minor" education they received in the Alliance was a one-to-one recreation of human society.

Thus, in the Alliance First Comprehensive Education School, teachers really had to prepare lessons, teach, assign homework, and grade final exams without missing a single step.

Actually, was Ms. Zhang able to hold her position as the homeroom teacher of the Alliance First Comprehensive Education School because the number of eyes on her body was uniquely advantageous?

For monitoring discipline and keeping an eye on a group of troublesome students, she certainly held an absolute advantage.

But when it came to delicate work like grading papers, she was far behind those Anomaly colleagues who grew multiple arms or limbs.

Ms. Zhang had no idea that her prize student was currently having all sorts of bizarre thoughts in his head.

She stood up and looked Ren Yi up and down, seeing him empty-handed, and her brow furrowed slightly.

"Aren't you going to make some preparations? You're going to the assessment empty-handed?"

"Don't worry, Teacher, I'm all ready."

Ren Yi pointed to his chest and stomach, his tone composed.

He wasn't carrying much: the raindrop Ren Man gave him, the Pain Mask Bead, and several crystals for emergencies.

Given that the assessment environment was unknown, carrying a backpack would be too conspicuous.

For Ren Yi, using "himself" to store things was the most discreet and reliable method.

"I see." Ms. Zhang blinked, quickly realizing what he meant.

"Sorry, Ren Yi. Teacher isn't very familiar with what species you are."