Ziye leaped up in excitement, then suddenly felt something was wrong. She rubbed her eyes, looked again, and it was still the same. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Why are there no scores?" Since it was a score inquiry system, the logical sequence should be to check the scores first, and then see what the minimum requirement was for the Spiritual Institute's Mechanic stream. But the system displayed no scores, only a single line: "Congratulations on passing the Spiritual Institute Mechanic Stream written examination!"

Little Sprout looked bewildered. "Isn't passing enough?"

Ziye shook her head. "I don't know either. But usually, there are scores, right? Did you check if you typed something wrong?"

Little Sprout looked displeased. "Are you questioning my ability?"

Ziye puffed out her cheeks. "No, I just don't trust my own eyes."

Little Sprout glanced at her and re-entered the exam identification number.

The same message appeared.

Ziye felt something was amiss, but since she passed, she passed. Why dwell on it so much? Perhaps the Spiritual Institute was different and didn't offer score inquiries, only revealing the final result.

She jumped up from her seat. "Oh yeah! Should we go out and celebrate?"

What she didn't know was that at that very moment, within the Kaga Education Center, someone was gazing at the transcript bearing Ziye's name on the screen, a slight smile curving the corner of their lips.

There were four subjects in total, each worth 200 points, making a grand total of 800. The minimum requirement for the Spiritual Institute wasn't excessively high; 740 points were needed. On Ziye's transcript, the total score was 739, missing the mark by a single point.

Her scores in the other three subjects were all 190; that one missing point had been lost in Relationship Studies.

Sometimes, a single point of difference is enough to see your dream slip away. His fingertips moved slightly, pressing a button, and the transcript before him dissolved into digital snow.

Before Ziye could even rush to the forum to share the good news, Chun Niu messaged her through UltraChat first. "Yaya, how were your scores? Did you pass?"

Ziye happily replied, "I passed."

Chun Niu couldn't help but smile too. "You really are amazing. Studying so hard for just two months to get into Spiritual, while I studied diligently for half a year to get mine. Truly, comparing people is infuriating!"

Ziye replied bashfully, "You're the amazing one; I was taught by you. Oh right, the score query system should show the actual scores, shouldn't it?"

Chun Niu laughed, unable to contain herself. "Of course, it shows them. How else would you know if you passed? Didn't you check the minimum requirement for the Spiritual Mechanic stream announced this morning?"

Ziye hastily navigated to the official Spiritual Institute website. The minimum requirement was 740, and the requirement for the Mechanic stream was also 740. Looking again at the score query system, her confusion deepened.

Why were her scores missing?

She wanted to ask Chun Niu, but she feared hearing the result she dreaded. She hesitated, swallowing her words, and ultimately didn't ask. After offering a couple of congratulations, Chun Niu said, "Everyone wants to congratulate you. Come chat on the forum."

Ziye logged into the Mobile Forum and entered the chatroom. Seeing Chun Niu in the discussion group, she joined it.

As soon as Chun Niu saw her enter, she laughed, "Congratulations, Meng Yaya."

Others followed suit. Cang Yun Lang boomed, "Meng Yaya, toss me an address, and I'll send you a gift."

Ziye couldn't help but smile too. "No need, I live pretty far out."

Cang Yun Lang laughed heartily. "That's fine too. If it's remote, I'll deliver it personally! What do you want? Saber-type? Angel-type? My Angel Legion showed off the Angel-type in Siyatu a few days ago; they are gorgeous and most suitable for girls like you. I'll get one for you."

Ziye quickly shook her head. "No, no, truly unnecessary. I appreciate your kindness."

Cang Yun Lang persisted. "I want you to appreciate it."

Ziye felt utterly helpless about him, just as she was about to say something, Chun Niu smoothly changed the topic. "Meng Yaya, is your practical project finished?"

Ziye finally escaped Cang Yun Lang's persistent questioning and let out a silent sigh of relief. "It's in progress; it needs about four more days to complete."

Chun Niu approved. "Good. Once it's done, if it's convenient for you, you can come to the Kaga Education Center. I can look over your mecha build. Kaga always has many students around; coming early won't hurt."

Ziye readily agreed. "Okay."

Chun Niu continued, "I also have some information on a few potential advisors and their past test questions. I'll send them to your email; pick out a few first, and then I'll explain them in detail. If you arrive early, you can also contact the advisors to build some rapport."

Ziye felt sincerely grateful. Otherwise, she'd be lost staring at a pile of unfamiliar advisor names. Even if she could search their life histories online, it would be difficult to grasp their personalities and styles. Advisor style was crucial; if it wasn't a style she liked, clashes were inevitable in future interactions.

Personality, after all, was the primary key to getting along well.

Chun Niu truly had her best interests at heart. While Ziye was still agonizing over scores, Chun Niu had already prepared so much for her. The depth of Ziye's gratitude was almost unspeakable.

People in the discussion group teased, "Chun Niu, have you taken a liking to the girl? I've never seen you put so much enthusiastic effort into helping someone! There's definitely some secret affair going on!"

Cang Yun Lang snorted. "Hmph! Chun Niu, how could you steal my Meng Yaya? I should be the one taking care of Meng Yaya."

Chun Niu was utterly speechless toward them. She simply pulled Ziye into the private sub-group, which currently had no one else in it, leaving the others to chat as they pleased.

Ziye was also quite speechless about Cang Yun Lang's garrulous and gossipy nature. She told Chun Niu, "I really don't know how to thank you."

Just as Chun Niu was about to speak, there was a "ding-dong," and Su Tang entered the chat.

Both of them couldn't help but utter a surprised "Eh," but Su Tang wasn't like Cang Yun Lang, noisy and boisterous. Moreover, Su Tang was highly respected; perhaps he might offer some advice. Thus, Ziye cheerfully greeted him. As for Chun Niu, she silently wondered if Su Tang had come this time to lure Ziye onto a crooked path again.

After the greetings, Su Tang smiled. "You passed?"

His voice was light and airy, yet full of certainty. For some reason, Ziye suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. Not seeing her score made her feel uncertain. She remained silent for a second. "Mm, I suppose so."

Su Tang smiled again. "Work hard."

Ziye quickly nodded. "Yes, thank you, Teacher Su Tang."

Su Tang gave a faint smile. "You're welcome. See you at Spiritual."

Ziye opened her eyes in surprise—he was at Spiritual too? Just as she was about to ask, he went offline. He logged on quickly and logged off just as fast. Chun Niu was even more perplexed. Did Su Tang log on just to say that one sentence to Meng Yaya? When did Su Tang become so idle?

Many people in the forum noticed Su Tang's presence and were about to come in to greet him, but he had already vanished. Consequently, they flooded the sub-group to ask Chun Niu. Seeing more people join, Ziye bid Chun Niu farewell and logged off.

Before logging off, she glanced at her friends list; Xing Rui was not online. She paused, then sent Xing Rui a message via UltraChat. She guessed Xing Rui might not have done well on the exam; otherwise, knowing his temperament, he would surely have shared the good news with her happily. Therefore, she hesitated to ask directly, opting for hints instead.

Xing Rui replied quickly, without giving a direct answer, only saying: "I'm moving bricks right now; my family cut off my financial support."

Ziye instantly felt a bad premonition.

In this era, "bricks" were historical relics; "moving bricks" only symbolized doing hard labor. Xing Rui likely didn't want her to know, which was why he answered this way.

Some say that when you speak cautiously, afraid of hurting the other person, it signifies that your relationship with them has become distant. Ziye recalled the time they fought hard together and felt a pang of sadness. She stopped pressing further, composed herself, and took out her Warrior-type mecha for modification.

After the modifications were complete, she inspected the mecha from top to bottom and told Little Sprout, "Beans, let's move!"

Little Sprout bounced up excitedly. "Move to the Kaga galaxy?"

Ziye nodded.

She hadn't stayed long at the Kira Space Station, and she knew it wasn't a place for long-term residence. She hadn't bought much—besides a few sets of clothes, she only had one Warrior-type mecha.

Ziye dismantled the robot and packed it into the storage compartment of her Peace-type mecha. She even packed her clothes inside and then stored the Peace-type into a spatial button, finally placing the spatial button into her backpack. This way, she could travel light; no matter where she went, she would only need one backpack.

Looking around the empty apartment, a sense of melancholy settled in her heart. No matter how long she stayed in a place, she never felt a sense of home; she was always drifting. It was the same on Silver Rune Star as it was on Kira Star.

Sometimes, she didn't know where she ought to settle; she could only move forward, chasing her dream.

Kaga was the paradise of her dream.

Ziye clenched her fists, applied for room termination, hooked Little Sprout onto her bag strap, and strode out the door.

Just before reaching the interstellar bus station, she suddenly remembered that both Chun Niu and Su Tang were in Kaga. She bought a few packs of Kira specialties on the way and stuffed them into her backpack. Kira Space Station, farewell.

The Kaga galaxy and the Kira galaxy were not in the same star field; it required twelve warp jumps to reach them. The average warp jump took twenty minutes, plus traversing the star gate and station entry/exit procedures, totaling a full five hours.

It was a genuine long-distance journey, ten times further than her trip from Silver Rune to Kira. Ziye gently stroked Little Sprout’s soft fur, filled with anticipation, but also a touch of apprehension, for the future and Kaga Star.

Decisions were a peculiar thing; they could change a person's life in a short span. Two months ago, she decided to take the unified exam, which was why she could head to the Kaga Education Center now. If she hadn't decided to take the exam but instead focused on creating a more advanced mecha blueprint, she would most likely still be at the Kira Space Station or searching for data in the Star-Found Library.

Hopefully, this decision was a wise one.

After continuous long hours of warping, the passengers on the bus were drowsy. Ziye's mental energy was formidable; she kept her eyes wide open the whole way, gazing at the monotonous and deep expanse of space, cheerfully teasing Little Sprout.

Little Sprout suddenly looked up. "Ziye, did you tell Chun Niu?"

Ziye then remembered and sent a message to Chun Niu via UltraChat: "Niuniu, I'm on my way to Kaga."

Poor Chun Niu—having been forgotten by her formal name, "Li Chunyu," she couldn't even keep the "Chun" part and had been thoroughly imagined as a cute little girl called "Niuniu."

Chun Niu immediately replied: "What time will you arrive? I'll come out to meet you."

Ziye had never met an online acquaintance in person before, and seeing Chun Niu's message made her feel a little hesitant.

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