Chapter 3
Because of the encounter at the supermarket yesterday afternoon, Yang’s mother and Zhou’s father were excited all night. Early in the morning, they woke Zhou Wanli up immediately.
“Wanwan, get up quickly! We’re going to the Brain Domain Assessment Center later! Don’t keep sleeping!”
“Why are you still asleep? It’s already this late! If you’re any later, the staff at the assessment center will be off for lunch!”
Yang Yue knocked on Zhou Wanli’s door once again. Seeing her still asleep with a sweet, peaceful expression—almost drooling—veins bulged on her forehead in anger, and she shouted her full name: “Zhou Wanli!!!”
“Honestly! You’re not even worried about your own matters! I’ve called you hundreds of times and you still won’t get up. You really are shameless!”
Startled awake, Zhou Wanli was speechless. Having stayed up all night researching until three or four in the morning, she didn’t dare utter a sound in the face of her mother’s fury.
She could only quickly get up and wash up.
After eating the loving breakfast cooked by her father, Zhou Qingfeng, the family of three hurried out the door to the nearest Beichen District Brain Domain Assessment Center.
Fortunately, it was Saturday today, otherwise Zhou Wanli would have had to take leave for the examination. Awakening was a serious matter that could not be delayed.
By the year 2275 in the Xingyuan calendar, the infrastructure on Blue Star was highly developed. Magnetic levitation buses ran every ten minutes, and the family was lucky to see one as they approached.
After getting off at the stop, it was still only ten in the morning. Since they were all ordinary people before, this was their first visit here. The three pairs of eyes curiously scanned the center, which consisted of three buildings covering a sizable area.
The first two looked like simple office buildings, while the last one, slightly shorter and located at the innermost part, was surrounded by a metal fence, making it hard to see inside.
They stepped into the lobby, which was surprisingly crowded.
Xijing City, the capital of Tonghai Province, was economically prosperous and populous. Although Beichen District was average by Xijing standards, many senior high school students worked hard every year for the Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination.
Following the signs, they went straight to the second floor.
At the reception stood a young woman with a sweet smile. After registration, she led Zhou Wanli to a separate examination room, while Yang Yue and Zhou Qingfeng waited outside.
Pushing the door open, Zhou Wanli saw a spacious, clean desk behind which sat a young man in a white lab coat, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and bearing a somewhat cold demeanor. He was fiddling with a black device.
Hearing her footsteps, the man looked up, pausing his work. “Senior high student? Here for a brain domain test?”
Zhou Wanli nodded.
“My surname is Bai. You can call me Researcher Bai. Is this your first time? Do you know your brain domain status?”
Hesitant, Zhou Wanli didn’t know how to answer. After a moment’s struggle, she chose to speak honestly: “Yesterday, an uncle who is a Beast Tamer in our neighborhood saw me and noticed my brain nerve tendrils materialized. He said I might have awakened a psychic magnetic field, but I didn’t realize it myself.”
Though this sounded far-fetched, Researcher Bai maintained a professional expression and suddenly asked, “What is the brain domain development level of ordinary people? What does brain domain development mean? How do brain nerve tendrils form?”
The sudden triple questions stunned Zhou Wanli. Luckily, she had spent the previous night researching, or she would have been at a loss. Instinctively, she replied, “Ordinary people have a level of 3 to 5. Brain domain development refers to how a few people can, through training, increase brain activity and develop a larger usable brain area, which is called brain domain development.”
“The formation of brain nerve tendrils depends on brain domain development. Simply put, a certain nerve in the brain becomes overactive and undergoes continuous mutation, gaining abilities to autonomously receive and transmit information, perceive and amplify emotions, and split and recombine. When one’s mental strength is strong, these tendrils can shift between the real and virtual.”
Under Researcher Bai’s scrutinizing gaze, Zhou Wanli felt like a student being supervised by a strict headmaster, afraid to make even a single mistake.
“What is psychic magnetic field awakening?”
“When the brain domain is sufficiently strong (development level above 10), brain nerve tendrils perceive and receive external emotional information while transmitting one’s own emotions, connecting end to end to construct a psychic communication magnetic field with a specific frequency.”
Bai Puxing nodded slowly, speaking calmly: “You have a good grasp of the basics. Seems like you’re not making this up and wasting my time.”
Zhou Wanli was puzzled. He looked presentable but had a sharp tongue.
Just as she was about to retort, the tall man, standing at one meter ninety, lowered his eyes toward her, and she immediately shut her mouth.
He walked toward a small room on the side.
“Come, let’s do a brain scan.”
Zhou Wanli smiled awkwardly.
——
Holding the hard-earned assessment report, Zhou Wanli left the center. Unlike her parents’ obvious excitement, her face was half joyful, half confused.
The joy came from confirming she had indeed awakened the psychic magnetic field and qualified to register for the Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination. The confusion arose from new problems that appeared after the examination.
The process was simple, except for the young researcher’s harsh demeanor, everything went smoothly.
Following directions, she entered a small black room containing a special brain domain scanning pod and lay down inside.
She felt only warmth in her head, nothing more.
However, when she emerged, she was stunned. In her mind appeared a virtual digital screen with several lines of clear small text:
[Name: Zhou Wanli]
[Brain Domain Development: 10 (Barren)]
[Brain Nerve Tendrils: 3 (Weak and Fragile)]
[Mental Strength: 115]
[Heart Sea: Unformed (Psychic Magnetic Field not matched with supernatural beings)]
After the scan, she glanced at the report handed to her by Researcher Bai. It showed all normal; the results for brain domain development and nerve tendrils exactly matched the virtual screen.
Tentatively, Zhou Wanli asked, “Researcher Bai, is there anything else in my brain domain test? Like something inside my brain?”
Bai Puxing paused while typing, then looked at her indifferently: “There is indeed something else in your brain.”
Shocked, Zhou Wanli asked, “Really? What exactly is that thing in my brain?”
“It’s water.”
The memory cut off.
Zhou Wanli was speechless, refusing to admit anyone could be so ridiculous.
Though subtly mocked, she had learned one thing—this virtual screen in her mind was visible only to herself and undetectable by current Blue Star technology.
Its other functions were unknown, but merely having real-time access to brain domain data put her far ahead.
She was quite pleased with this rebirth gift.
——
Monday morning.
On the second floor of the teaching building at Beixi No.1 High School.
Homeroom teacher Jiang Kejun shook the report in hand, staring at the girl in disbelief. “You actually awakened on your own?”
Zhou Wanli replied calmly, “Geniuses are always like this—beyond expectation.”
Jiang Kejun twitched her mouth, thinking, Why didn’t I know you were such a show-off before?
“Alright, alright. Since you meet all three conditions, I’ll go to the academic office to register you later.”
“Don’t I need to come with you?” Zhou Wanli asked regretfully.
“No!” Jiang Kejun said bluntly. “Use the remaining two weeks to catch up on your lousy academic subjects!”
“What academic subjects? I’m taking the global Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination, teacher,” Zhou Wanli reminded her, suspecting early onset menopause.
Jiang Kejun: “…You didn’t even listen to a word I said in class! Here’s good news—after your Beast Tamer exam, you’ll still take the academic college entrance exam.”
Seeing Zhou Wanli’s expression turn to stone, Jiang Kejun smiled and added, “A piece of advice: illiterates can’t become Beast Tamers.”
“Also, the Beast Tamer exam is a chance for ordinary seniors like you to leapfrog.”
“Those with talent usually contract a pet beast easily, but if you miss this chance—not only will you fail, but you’ll have to buy a pet beast yourself later. You might even go bankrupt trying to get a satisfactory supernatural beast.”
“You’ll learn all this after your exams.”
“And if you neglect your academics, when the supernatural beasts come right in front of you during the exam, and you can’t even call out their names, how will you contract them with a hammer?”
“!!!”
This news hit like a thunderbolt.
So, for the next two weeks, Zhou Wanli studied day and night, working harder than ever.
Even the admiration and praise from classmates upon learning of her awakening couldn’t distract her. She immersed herself in the sea of knowledge, unable and unwilling to escape.
Even in sleep, her thoughts were about supernatural creatures—like the complementary relationship between sunflowers and moon grass and their mutual evolutionary promotion, or the reasons why the Magnificent Bird lost its ability to fly after its second evolution.
In her past life as a top student at a prestigious academy, her diligence was no exaggeration.
Everything was ready.
On the last day before the global exam.
Zhou Wanli and all students at Beixi No.1 High School who met the exam requirements received an urgent school assembly notice.
Then she witnessed the most stunning sight of her two lives—military vehicles leading the way, ranks of federal soldiers escorting, followed by five powerful flying pet beasts carrying their Beast Tamers.
Such a grand-scale escort was merely for protecting twenty-eight students who hadn’t yet contracted a pet beast?
Zhou Wanli finally understood why the Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination was so coveted and seen as an ideal goal. It was even called the global exam because every step revealed the federation’s emphasis and investment.
In this world, Beast Tamers might be more important than she had imagined!
All senior students from Tonghai Province participating in the exam were swiftly gathered under heavy federal military escort to a base in Huicheng District, Xijing City, numbering over five thousand.
These five thousand were just the tip of the iceberg for this exam.
On the last day of May, Zhou Wanli faced the most critical examination of her life—the global large-scale probationary Beast Tamer unified hazard exam, simply known as the Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination.
...Welcome to the world of Beast Tamers, humanity :)