The Outlets Hotel offered to help Lin Xiaohe unpack her gifts, but she firmly refused.
She loved unwrapping presents.
In her previous life, the only gift she ever received was a bouquet of flowers from a junior on graduation day.
And even that bouquet was arranged by the school.
But now, the gifts that Heaven owed her were coming back tenfold!
“Gifts, gifts, hahaha, they’re all mine!” Lin Xiaohe rolled around on top of the gift boxes.
Because there were so many gifts, the Outlets Hotel let her use their warehouse for free.
The presents brought into her suite didn’t even make up a tenth of the total.
Rip! She tore open a box to reveal a beautiful gemstone necklace.
Lin Xiaohe waved her hand generously and gave it to her second sister.
She kept going! Rip! A thermal flask that could both heat and cool drinks.
“Grandpa, this is for you.”
Lin Xiaohe buried herself in the joy of unwrapping.
Combat gloves? For her eldest brother!
A full set of mechanical repair tools? For Dad!
Lin Xiaohe hummed a tune, her heart soaring like a free bird, filled with pure joy.
The Lin family watched her with warm smiles, sharing in her happiness.
Morris gazed at her with tender eyes. If his sister Alicia ever met Lin Xiaohe, she would surely like her too.
The doorbell rang. It was Melina and Wesley.
Wesley walked in with a proud look. “So? Eboar said he wanted to transfer money to you directly because you love cash the most. But I shot that idea down. Money is just a string of cold numbers—how could it compare to the joy of unwrapping gifts?”
Lin Xiaohe paused.
She felt conflicted inside. While unwrapping gifts was fun, receiving money directly would also bring her a lot of joy.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense.” Melina introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Wesley’s mother, Melina. Thank you so much for saving Wesley. He’s my only child, my whole world.”
Lin Xiaohe quickly wiped her hands clean and shook Melina’s hand. “Hello, Mrs. Melina. I’ve received your gifts, so we’re even now. Don’t worry about it.”
Melina raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Lin Xiaohe’s response.
She really was an innocent and unpretentious girl—completely different from those cunning foxes in the political world.
Melina already felt grateful toward Lin Xiaohe, and now everything Lin Xiaohe did seemed even more endearing to her. “You’re truly adorable.”
“Haha, thanks for the compliment.”
Lin Jingqiu moved the gifts off the sofa and invited the guests to sit down.
Melina wasn’t here just for casual conversation; she had something important to discuss with Lin Xiaohe. “I have some questions about the special admissions exam.”
The whole room fell silent.
An exam was a matter of utmost importance.
Sensing the tension, Melina smiled. “No need to be nervous. It’s nothing too serious. Xiaohe, did you know that the Central Military Academy starts in a month?”
Huh?!
Lin Xiaohe was lost.
She had only just made it to the Fifth Star Ring, and now school was starting in a month?!
What was she supposed to do about her exam?!
Seeing Lin Xiaohe’s confused expression, Melina knew she had no idea. “Relax, I’m not the bad guy. I’m the Director of the Fourth Star Ring Education Bureau. Would you mind letting me take a look at your admission notice?”
Oh, man.
Lin Xiaohe finally snapped back to reality. She had been so focused on surviving all this time that she had almost forgotten—she had submitted a blank exam paper!
Oh, my God. Could it be that her admission really was a mistake? What if the real special admissions student was someone else?!
Feeling anxious, Lin Xiaohe pulled up the digital version of her admission notice.
Everyone held their breath as they watched Melina, their hearts pounding.
Melina studied the admission notice, frowning deeply with a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
She had originally suspected that someone had tampered with the notice, trying to make Lin Xiaohe miss the registration deadline and lose her spot.
But after using her access privileges to scan the notice multiple times with a smart AI, she found no signs of alteration. The Central Military Academy’s official seal was also verified as authentic.
“How strange,” she murmured.
Lin Xiaohe licked her lips, her throat dry.
She felt like a fish flopping around in the desert, helplessly waiting for her fate to be decided.
“Mrs. Melina, is the notice fake?”
Melina shook her head, her expression growing more serious. “No, it’s real. But the procedure doesn’t match. The Central Military Academy’s written exam results come out quickly. Once candidates pass the score threshold, they’re required to take mental and physical strength tests at a certified testing center no lower than C-level. After passing both, they must travel to the First Star Ring for the final assessment.”
“To accommodate students from remote areas, the academy allows four months for travel. And the practical exam isn’t actually a real battlefield scenario—it’s conducted on the internal Star Network.”
!!!
Everyone was stunned. Compared to Lin Xiaohe’s experience, this process was completely different—there was no resemblance at all.
No matter how intense the Star Network battle was, at worst, it would only drain one’s mental strength.
But Lin Xiaohe had been thrown into a real battlefield, where death was a constant threat.
Lin Xiaohe’s father stammered, “Could it be because of the special admissions status? This notice was sent to us by the Sixth Star Ring’s College Entrance Examination Office.”
Melina was just as confused as everyone else. “That’s possible. The Fourth Star Ring has never had a special admissions student before, so I don’t know what the proper procedure for them is supposed to be.”
The term “special admissions” seemed like a key that made all the unreasonable steps suddenly appear justified.
Wesley muttered in dissatisfaction, “Why do special admissions students at the Central Military Academy only need to take the practical exam online, while candidates from other Star Rings have to go to an actual battlefield?”
It wasn’t fair! They had almost died out there!
Melina gave him a helpless look. “The exams in the Fifth and Sixth Star Rings were man-made accidents. The Education Bureau wants to select students, not turn them into cannon fodder.”
“Under normal circumstances, we clear out a designated exam zone, leave behind some low-level mutated plants or creatures, and have candidates eliminate them to earn points for ranking. Participants can withdraw at any time.”
“To ensure student safety, both the military and the education department monitor the exam area in real-time and send personnel to protect them.”
In some cases, the number of security personnel even exceeded the number of candidates.
But because the term “practical exam” was so misleading, most people believed it was an extremely dangerous test.
So when Fifth Star Ring candidates were deployed to Gonggong Star, the general public just assumed that the exam had become more difficult.
As for the Fifth Star Ring Education Bureau, which was familiar with the standard process, they assumed it was an exam reform—a move by the military to prevent favoritism.
Lin Xiaohe’s grandmother looked at her worriedly. “Xiaohe, why don’t we just skip the exam? It’s too dangerous. And imagine going through all that trouble to pass every stage, only to be told it was all a mistake—wouldn’t that be infuriating?”
The rest of the Lin family shared the same concern.
She had barely made it through the Fifth Star Ring, and it had already been perilous. Who knew what dangers awaited ahead?
Lin Xiaohe hesitated too. A captain’s rank should be enough to protect her family, right?
Melina spoke sincerely, “If Xiaohe wants to go far in the military, she definitely needs to attend a military academy. As for the Fourth Star Ring exam, I can’t go easy on her, but I promise that no outsiders will interfere!”
She took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision. “I’ll find a way to contact the Central Military Academy and get to the bottom of this.”
