Lu Pin muttered, staring at the screen displaying the testing room interior. "Just a coincidence..."
The gathered crowd were all military personnel or people from related agencies. Even they thought it was probably just coincidence that the little girl had dodged a punch thrown with adult strength and speed.
Their assumption wasn't wrong. Hui'er had barely moved from her spot. She'd just tilted her head slightly and dodged that attack easily. This made them think she was simply lucky the punch had grazed past.
"Hey... what the hell?"
But no matter how shocked they were, the test was computer-controlled. It wouldn't wait for them to prepare. The next attack sequence had already begun.
Whoosh!
The blue shadow vanished and reappeared behind her in a blind spot. It had full human body structure. The moment it materialized completely, it coiled and kicked - faster than the earlier punch - straight at Hui'er's midsection!
"..."
The little girl still didn't move. She bent her knees and stepped forward once, beautifully dodging the leg longer than her entire body.
The next attack came immediately. This time the blue figure appeared with a short knife. It lunged and stabbed toward her stomach. Of course Hui'er wouldn't allow that. She shifted her weight to her toes and backflipped in an arc to another corner.
She was rather frustrated. Since the opponent was only virtual, she couldn't counterattack. Under normal circumstances, she would've borrowed its force and sent it crashing to the floor long ago.
Her test continued for over a minute. Various weapons appeared, progressing from hands and feet to small knives, swords, sabers, spears, staffs, axes - basically every ancient weapon imaginable was loaded into the system and deployed.
Those who initially thought the test would end easily stood gaping. The testing standard for this machine was only thirty seconds for ordinary soldiers — the transition point between unarmed combat and when weapons came into play.
Well-trained personnel might last past one minute. But that just meant dodging incoming attacks. As long as they had experience with those particular weapons, there was no problem.
The critical point came at the three-minute and three-and-a-half-minute marks.
At three minutes, attacks shifted to long-range format. Besides dealing with blue shadows up close, they also had to split their focus dodging arrows or shuriken flying in from all directions.
At this point, even cultivators gritted their teeth. This was an enclosed space. And no matter how strong their qi, the simulated attacks ignored that defense anyway.
If anything hit them, they'd immediately count as "defeated."
All they could do was "dodge" everything.
So the sight of this waist-high little girl dancing in the room's center was something they'd never imagined seeing.
Hui'er had no problem with this level. Her movements merged with weight transfer principles, flowing smoothly without a hitch. She tilted to dodge a giant axe sweeping from the left. Simultaneously, she let her body slide to dodge an arrow shot from a blind spot.
The scientist who'd been bored earlier stared at the screen with bulging eyes. From his perspective, besides the main display, several other screens were analyzing the test subject's movements simultaneously. Numbers scrolled past rapidly, calculating all possible outcomes.
The "three-and-a-half-minute" mark!
Bang!
A strange unfamiliar sound rang out from behind, startling even Hui'er. She sensed an attack incomparably faster than arrows or shuriken rushing straight toward her. Another blue shadow holding a handgun appeared in one corner. Lu Pin, watching nervously outside, smiled at this scene.
Gun attacks were the barrier where even many Martial Masters had to admit defeat. They had no problem fighting real people. But when all they could do was dodge, bullet speed was enough to force them out.
That's why this machine's record had never exceeded four minutes!
"...It's over, little girl."
Lu Pin muttered, feeling admiration rise in his heart. She looked under ten but had abilities comparable to special forces. At this rate, in less than five years she'd probably be far beyond his level.
However, Hui'er's demeanor changed abruptly.
She stopped in the room's center. Her eyes that had been full of sparkle gradually narrowed until she seemed distant.
A certain aura around her became visible.
Bang!
The gun fired again. This time from another angle. Hui'er simply tilted sideways once and dodged both the sweeping spear and the bullet grazing her arm simultaneously!
"Hey!"
"...That's insane."
This scene drew shocked cries from many personnel. Even the gathered special forces members were impressed by the little girl's movement.
"...She's entered that state again."
Marshal Zhang Xianyuan appeared, walking in behind Bai Fanxian. His arrival made many slacking personnel prepare to flee. But the Marshal spoke up first.
"You guys better watch carefully and study this. It's not often you get to see movement that 'perfect.'"
Zhang Xianyuan's words made many turn back. Then they gaped again seeing the little girl on screen moving through bullets as if strolling through a flower garden.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The longer it went, the more gun-wielding blue figures appeared. She used calculated movements to walk straight toward each shadow one by one. Meanwhile those bullets floated past like an action movie. No matter how many multiplied, not one created a wound on her as she walked around.
"...This isn't real, right?"
Someone said this. But it brought everyone to their senses. They looked at the timer now approaching five minutes!
Lu Pin stared at Hui'er's movements as if in a dream. When the time passed five minutes, everything in the room dissolved. The computer shut down the virtual reality, and her state returned to normal.
The machine door opened. It was the first time it opened without that annoying beep. Because this was the "first time" anyone had cleared this training machine without getting hit even once.
"...Is it over?"
Hui'er walked out looking confused and asked the scientist controlling the machine. Hearing her voice brought him to his senses. The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly as if seeing a ghost.
"..."
Lu Pin himself stared at the screen in a daze. Even though the test was over, he still gazed mindlessly. Hui'er looked at him and chose to ignore it. She walked past without saying a word. When she returned to her lady, she was surprised to see Marshal Zhang Xianyuan in the group.
"When did you arrive, Marshal?"
"Well, you guys weren't coming to my room so I came out to see what happened."
The Marshal laughed lightly. Seeing there was nothing more, he guided Bai Fanxian's party out. Along the way, Liu Yianfei dropped back to walk beside Hui'er. He reached out to gently pat her head with a smile.
"Thank you for fighting for me..."
How could he not know why this child went out to fight?
When Hui'er heard this, she smiled. She laughed like a small child. She could sense the warmth from that large hand clearly...
.
.
.
"You're being overly cautious."
On the way to their destination, Bai Fanxian couldn't help complaining. The Marshal had led them through areas with strict security. They recorded everyone's information thoroughly, not sparing even children like Hui'er and Tang Yeye.
"...This time it's really dangerous." Zhang Xianyuan sighed. Holding this prisoner could be called the most careful they'd ever been in history. That man had displayed Sage-level power — even the army's Marshal might not be able to handle him.
Besides that, his "associates" like the Night Shadow Thieves remained silent. If they really raided to rescue the prisoner, thorough preparation was necessary.
"We're here..."
Zhang Xianyuan stopped before a room. He used retinal scanning to open it. The moment the door opened, medicinal smell and cold air washed over them. Liu Yianfei used his body to shield the three children while circulating qi around himself. His Intent spread out, blocking those unpleasant sensations.
The inside was filled with medical equipment. Bai Fanxian looked around while spreading her Heaven Sense throughout.
She could sense one living being bound at the room's center.
Barbatos's massive body was pinned with some special equipment, making him look like a cocoon. Only his head protruded. When he sensed movement in the room, those tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
"...So what's this problem you mentioned?"
Bai Fanxian had almost forgotten. Yesterday when Huang Zihuan reported to her, he'd said Zhang Xianyuan found that "a problem" had occurred with Barbatos.
The Marshal himself seemed to be waiting for Bai Fanxian to ask. He walked before that foreign man, whose eyes trembled. The young woman could observe fear and confusion fighting chaotically in those eyes.
"We're not entirely sure yet..." He spoke while pulling out all of Barbatos's test results and handing them to Wu Jia and Bai Fanxian.
"...But it seems this man can't remember anything... He has amnesia."