How could this person keep their head down without looking up?

Mingmei hadn't encountered anyone who caught her attention in a long time. But this person seemed completely oblivious to everyone around them, quietly reading a book with their head down, showing no intention of looking up.

Weirdo!

Mingmei thought to herself, then recalled what her uncle had said about not just getting a degree for the sake of it; she should make a couple of friends at least.

Lu Xiaoyao could count as one. Maybe pick another one she found pleasing to the eye?

However, Mingmei stared at the person for several minutes, unable to see their face. The courage she had mustered deflated, and her already icy face seemed several degrees colder.

Forget it, whatever.

She was just a small salted fish and not suited for taking the initiative.

Thinking this, she turned around, just missing the moment when the man's dark eyes lifted and focused precisely on her.

The man's fingers, which were holding the page of the book, trembled slightly, his knuckles turning an unnatural white. He looked up, and the scenery around Mingmei seemed to lose all color, highlighting the uniqueness of her figure.

It was this restrained and subtle gaze that he had been cultivating for a long time. He wanted to appear before her openly and legitimately, to have a long and fruitful relationship with her...

It wasn't until their homeroom teacher, Ms. Cheshire, entered that the dozen or so students in the class, each with their own thoughts, turned their attention to her.

A woman with outstanding temperament and a gentle personality.

"Apart from some mecha courses and combat training that require in-person classes, all other courses can be studied online. After the final exams, each course you pass will earn you two credits. Everyone must have 60 credits by the end of the semester to pass."

Ms. Cheshire seemed aware of the peculiar personalities of the students she had recruited from all over the galaxy, so she got straight to the point and talked about what everyone cared about most.

However, 60 credits, with only two credits per course, didn't seem quite right.

Mingmei frowned, about to ask a question, when someone nearby raised their hand.

"Teacher, I just looked at the schedule. We only have ten courses this semester. Are there other ways to get the sixty credits?"

"In addition to earning credits by passing the final exams, there are also school competitions and completing the *Ancient Blue Star Survival Guide* game series. Your grading in each game will earn you corresponding credit points."

Hearing this, Mingmei was stunned.

Wait, her uncle had mentioned the military academy's collaboration with a game company, but she didn't know it was tied to the end-of-term grades!

Other people got credits for completing the game, but what about her?

What was she going to do as an NPC in the game?

How was she supposed to complete it?

"Oh, one more thing..." The homeroom teacher paused noticeably, a strange light flashing in her eyes as she looked at everyone present. "Because everyone here has a high mental strength level, the game system will give you corresponding credits based on your mental strength rating before entering the game. Consider it a safety net."

"What's the maximum safety net?"

"An SSS-level mental strength guarantees 15 credit points. Each level below SSS deducts 5 points. I imagine everyone here should be able to reach at least 10 credit points."

Ms. Cheshire's explanation made Mingmei unconsciously slow her breathing. She glanced around, realizing that everyone in this class had at least an SS-level mental strength?

Were S-level mental strengths so common in the galaxy?

The thought flashed through her mind, and Mingmei immediately understood the meaning of this special recruitment class.

Mingmei couldn't help but glance at Lu Xiaoyao beside her, marveling at the fact that her mental strength was also SS-level?

Unscientific! =.=

Her IQ didn't seem that high...

"Then, what about the allowance? Is it also highest for SSS, and then decreases for SS or S?" Just as Mingmei was lost in her thoughts, Lu Xiaoyao asked Ms. Cheshire about the allowance she was most concerned about.

But the answer was different. Ms. Cheshire smiled slightly and said, "The allowance is related to your end-of-term credit points. Sixty credit points is the lowest tier, and one hundred credit points is naturally the highest. Each ten points is a tier."

"Then... what about completing the game? What's the maximum score?" Hearing that credit points were linked to the allowance, half of the ten people present became concerned about this question.

"Completing a game with a perfect score earns you five credit points."

"That doesn't sound too hard... One game a day, and with so many days in a semester, we should be able to earn full marks."

For some reason, if someone else had said this, Mingmei might have thought it was feasible, but coming from Lu Xiaoyao—Mingmei felt doomed.

"Really that good?"

See, some students were already starting to suspect that Ms. Cheshire was just drawing them a big cake to trick them.

"However, as you all probably know, the game company has already graded the difficulty levels of its *Ancient Blue Star Escape* series. As a special recruitment class, you can only choose the Super Hard level."

Super Hard difficulty. As soon as Ms. Cheshire finished speaking, the expression on Lu Xiaoyao's face instantly became colorful.

There were four difficulty levels in the game: Simple, Normal, Complex, and finally the Super Hard level, which was marked with a warning star and required a mental strength of at least S to choose.

How were they supposed to complete it?

From great joy to great sorrow in an instant.

"Then... what if we can't complete it? Also, how is a perfect score determined?" As if determined to make Lu Xiaoyao cry, someone asked what would happen if they couldn't pass.

"Naturally, the score is calculated based on the completion of the plot development. It's not enough to just swallow it whole. For the most perfunctory attempts, those who try to survive to the end, the system's lowest score can be just 1 point. And if this happens for three consecutive games, 5 points will be deducted directly. Don't try to take shortcuts or exploit loopholes, darlings~"

The "darlings" made everyone present feel disgusted. Mingmei raised her eyes and looked at Ms. Cheshire, who maintained a gentle and dignified smile, and couldn't help but snicker in her heart.

As expected, you can't judge a book by its cover. This homeroom teacher wasn't as kind as everyone thought.

"Then... apart from being used as the final grade assessment, do these credit points have any other uses?"

Someone suddenly realized whether the credit points had other uses. Sure enough, Ms. Cheshire smiled directly and nodded with satisfaction at his question.

"Our military academy has a related partnership with the company. Unlike the general public who play this game for excitement and entertainment, we play this game to improve our abilities. Therefore, to encourage everyone's efforts and progress, all purchasable escape items in the game require credit points to redeem for us."

Hearing this, Mingmei subconsciously looked up directly at Ms. Cheshire, who was looking back at her. She even secretly winked at her.

Mingmei: ?

Homeroom teacher, do you know something?