Chapter Seven

She turned to look at Lin. The young man’s expression was slightly stiff, revealing little joy.

The red light on the flying camera blinked as it received a new command. It let out another beep: "Mr. Lin, please follow me."

"It seems I’ll have to say goodbye to you for now," Anni spoke first. She pressed her finger to her lower lip and tilted her head, her gaze resting on his face. "Teacher, don’t go telling anyone about me."

Lin stood up, not looking at her. "You’re the one who shouldn’t suddenly indulge your whims here."

Anni laughed, delighted; she’d never appreciated Lin’s words so much before. The more they interacted, the worse their relationship grew, and his manners and respect gradually vanished.

She pointed to her star network watch. "I’m off, then. Remember to keep me updated—"

Her answer was the indifferent back of the blue-haired merman.

The flying camera broke away from its orderly patrol, leading Lin into the depths of the campus, into the towering office building that seemed to pierce the clouds.

Lin entered an office on the top floor. The room, pitch-black before, was suddenly illuminated the moment he stepped in.

A floating communication image appeared, its concentrated light exuding a powerful sense of oppression. The familiar figure materialized.

This felt less like a conversation, more like an interrogation.

"I thought you’d failed so badly you’d never return." The middle-aged merman’s voice was deep and heavy. "Do you know how long the family has searched for you? You’re the heir; you should be tougher, more outstanding, stronger than anyone. If you died in an accident of this level, I wouldn’t know how to face the alliance media. You lack any heir’s abilities, can’t even protect yourself. If you can’t, then your brother…"

Lin endured the first half of the scolding, his fingers patiently rubbing the creases in his clothing, a different nausea rising in him. When the other mentioned "brother," his eyelid twitched sharply. "Don’t bring him up, alright?"

His brows were pale, and the harsh, distant look was especially striking on his face. Lin spoke: "I was only ever the nominal heir—a shield, a whetstone. You needn’t bother with your vague concern for me; I know who your favored child is. I’m neither brave nor fierce, can’t hunt for your benefit, nor fulfill the Blue Dragon family’s dream of conquering the stars… Just keep seeing me as your disgrace."

A fist slammed onto the desk inside the floating screen. The water in the glass shook violently.

"Is this how you speak to your elders? You’ve always been so cowardly, always thinking of escape when faced with trouble, never wanting to change, no matter what it is."

The speaker looked refined and cultured, yet was easily provoked by his own kin: "Is there nothing predatory in your nature, no desire to compete? Why can’t you learn to fight, to seek favor, to kill? Lin, why did I ever have a child like you who won’t strike back?!"

The wavering light on the screen fell across Lin’s brow. He pressed his aching temple and bowed his head. "Yes, why is that? Your affection for me is fleeting, but your hatred endless. I often can’t fathom the reason—is it simply because I don’t meet your expectations?"

The middle-aged merman was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Come home immediately, resign your post at Azure University, I’ll make new arrangements—"

"No."

The atmosphere froze. His father stared at him coldly, treating his words as a final ultimatum. "If I don’t see you in three hours, I’ll cut off all your current funding and privileges. Don’t think you can rely on the family’s resources. This dull job you insist on will only bring you endless pain."

The screen went dark. The busy patriarch had no time for further arguments.

Lin stood for a moment in the suddenly dim room, then came to his senses and left. Only then did he activate the ordinary star network watch on his wrist and log into his account.

He checked the history of messages with the principal, when a pink avatar suddenly popped up, sending a voice message.

The audio automatically converted to merman language: "Te—ach—er—"

Lin: "..."

"What are you doing? Are you complaining to your family? I saw a very handsome merman by the roadside…"

Lin: "............"

"I’ve paid the tuition, but the money you gave me is all spent. Accommodation is so expensive—so expensive! Can I crash in your room, teacher? No? If not, then I’ll just—"

"Don’t answer your own questions," he replied. "Behave yourself."

-

Anni received Lin’s room password.

She changed into Azure University’s uniform. Having grown up in the garbage pits, Anni was only familiar with the life of the lowest humans. It was her first time wearing such soft and expensive fabric, receiving education at one of Azure Star’s top universities.

She was intensely diligent.

The F Division contained mostly humans. These once-excellent students, thrown into a new environment, found themselves crushed by the mermans’ innate advantages. "Starship piloting," "close combat," "mecha repair and disassembly"—the requirements for these courses were outrageously high, and the privileged noble youths had been exposed to them years ahead, leaving a gap of more than a decade.

The vast disparity and discrimination led many to give up, their spirits broken.

In this despondent F Division, only Anni was exceptionally earnest. Over the month since classes began, she hadn’t made any new friends, completely immersed in human knowledge.

Like a strange creature that didn’t need social interaction.

"Tsk, that’s her, see?" Such whispered comments often sounded behind Anni. "It’s pitiful, really. Talent isn’t something you can catch up to by working hard, but she still foolishly thinks she’s not diligent enough…"

"She came up from District Three."

"District Three? That place?!"

"Yeah, she probably thinks she’s some kind of genius…"

"My mom told me to strive to become a star warrior, to be selected for interstellar campaigns. But seeing this, there’s no hope—the mermans are just freaks."

"Tsk… noble, non-intermarrying species. Aren’t they afraid intermarriage with humans will dilute their bloodlines, be swallowed up and erased by the vast human population? Each one is so arrogant their eyes are in the clouds."

"Keep it down. I heard this class is getting a new teacher, maybe someone really strict…"

Before the words faded, a line of cameras flew into the room, patrolling in order and checking the attendees, as a prompt sounded: "Ancient History class is about to begin. Please keep quiet."

When the announcement ended, a deep blue figure entered precisely on time. The classroom fell utterly silent, all eyes fixed on his face—a mature male merman, his iconic milky white exoskeleton extending from his ears like a cluster of snowy coral. Tiny silver scales flecked the corners of his blue eyes, his long hair cascading to his waist.

Not a sound was made.

This was clearly a merman of very noble blood. Yet this was the bottom-ranked F Division; he should have been teaching the noble sons, not standing here.

Anni finally looked up from her notes, gazing at Lin at the front. Her pale pink eyes brightened, and she mouthed a smile: "…Teacher?"

Just a lip movement.

Lin, however, was irritated by the uncomfortable title. He donned the projection glasses for teaching and instinctively touched the area behind his ear.

Annoying creature.

During this obscure and lengthy ancient history class, the most attentive listener was that annoying creature. After the self-study room closed each night, this dreadful monster continued to share his quarters.

Her all-night studying became routine; the massive volume of information left Anni no room for distraction. Years spent scavenging in the garbage pits made her familiar with discarded mechanical debris. She often read while her hands assembled mechanical parts.

She bought the cheapest assembly kits, but they were the most challenging.

Her hands were extremely dexterous, beyond human limits. With a dazzling shake, metal scraps were transformed into intricate mechanisms. Meanwhile, her eyes absorbed material from another subject.

Multitasking? Lin, observing her, was once again convinced she was an exceptional student.

His gaze shifted—and suddenly he noticed a tentacle stretching from Anni’s side, a soft pink appendage curling around an electronic pen, furiously scribbling on the screen.

Lin nearly spat out the water he’d just swallowed.

A second tentacle slowly emerged, cradling the "Starship Piloting" manual for careful study.

A third tentacle was already logged into the star network account, initiating a virtual star battle simulation course.

A fourth…

She could, at the same time, study more than a dozen subjects?!

Did each tentacle have its own brain?

Lin tapped his forehead, hypnotizing himself to forget the scene before him, then turned to return to the water to sleep. But as he took a step, a long-hidden little thing curled around his ankle. He stiffened, looking down to meet a soft, pink, damp and tender tentacle; though it had no eyes, he felt Anni watching him.

"Teacher," Anni’s voice sounded from behind, "could you tutor me? History is part of the cultural curriculum, making up a full tenth, but some documents are entirely written in merman language. Many words can’t even be found—Azure Star’s knowledge blockade is so severe."

She clasped her hands together, sincerely pleading: "Please, please."

"Can I refuse?"

Anni smiled, her voice light and cheerful, eyes open to his back: "Nope—"

The first month, after the initial joint exam, results were posted on the giant floating screen in the teaching building.

Name: Anni—Student ID XXX51

Rank: 7654

Scores: Culture 65, Skills 77, Combat 50, Physical 64

Rating: D

The red font representing F Division students stood out, squeezed among the mediocre merman scores. Anni walked by without looking up, hearing whispers, "She really made an effort," "What’s the use? Only the top ten get to try out for star warrior selection. She’ll just be first here…"

Anni kept walking.

The second month, the rankings updated with the new exam scores, scrolling across the building.

Name: Anni—Student ID XXX51

Rank: 2533

Scores: Culture 77, Skills 80, Combat 69, Physical 75

Rating: C

—

"Isn’t she a little too monstrous?" "I heard those arrogant mermans have noticed her—they seem furious." "Have you heard about her rumors with that teacher…"

Anni opened the classroom door.

All chatter vanished in her presence. Countless eyes shifted with her approach. This white-haired girl with a genetic defect didn’t look strong, but her "combat" and "physical" scores were daunting.

Anni took her seat. The area around her immediately cleared, as if no one dared be near.

She simply yawned from staying up all night studying.

The third month.

Name: Anni—Student ID XXX51

Rank: 598

Scores: Culture 89, Skills 88, Combat 73, Physical 81

Rating: B

That glaring red name appeared on the first page.

On the day the rankings updated, Anni received an unprecedented "welcome"—countless young mermen questioned her combat abilities, her star network inbox flooded with doubts and insults, challenge posts of all kinds.

Childish, truly childish.

In a side alley without patrolling cameras, Anni planted her foot on a young merman’s face, shoe pressing his skull, efficiently deleting all the inbox messages.

Those who tried to "teach her a lesson" couldn’t even crawl away. Their vaunted talent was crushed to dust, blood splattering on the ground.

Anni’s foot ground against the handsome merman’s face as she answered Lin’s call.

"Dinner…"

"Let’s have octopus for dinner!" Anni said.

"…Cannibalism."

"I’m nothing like them." Anni nudged the limp, defeated merman beneath her foot, stepping over him. "Teacher, are you short on money lately? Why are you cooking for yourself now?"

"Shut up, mind your own business."

Fourth month, fifth month…

With each update, that brilliant red name made eyelids twitch. After the half-year comprehensive new student exam, people began to wait before the screen, watching for the real-time rankings.

It wasn’t just a simple score list.

It was the candidate pool for star warriors, the future competitors in the slaughterfields. Anyone who could distinguish themselves there could gain everything ordinary people dreamed of—wealth, power, strength, and even the loftiest noble mermen would bow to such a powerful mate.

Anni was simply too dazzling.

Emerging from District Three, a genetically unstable girl, yet she had beaten so many formidable mermen in combat exams without letting them rise again.

"What a terrifying girl," the principal’s office echoed with the voices of several people who clearly weren’t school teachers, each reclining at leisure. Some wore close-fitting battle gear, others expensive and refined formal wear, but all radiated an extraordinary aura.

"There truly are pearls hidden in the sea," said a woman in human form. "I thought when the cosmic humans left Azure Star years ago, they’d taken all the gifted seeds with them, but she managed to thrive in such an environment."

"Don’t sound so righteous," the merman’s tone was sharp, and if not for the woman’s status, he seemed unwilling to sit with her. "Even if she’s a genius, she was selected by Azure University, a warrior under the Blue Dragon’s banner."

"That’s not certain; she’s human…"

The screen’s rankings flickered.

The room fell overly silent. Everyone’s gaze focused, capturing that brief name, evaluating this unprecedented genius.

Name: Anni—Student ID XXX51

Rank: 9

Scores: Culture 96, Skills 99, Combat 94, Physical 97

Rating: S

The red font representing F Division students was edged with a layer of golden S-rank. She appeared here so quietly, yet earth-shatteringly.

And made this silent world burst into uproar for her.