Prologue A
The opening animation has ended. Would you like to replay it?
The screen displays two options: "Yes" and "No".
Because there had been no activity for so long, the light on the screen gradually dimmed.
In the quiet room, the decorative pendulum clock ticked away, its second and minute hands completing a full rotation, then brushing past each other at a certain point with a soft chirping sound.
The second hand pushes time forward, meaning that a day has been turned on the calendar; today is her eighteenth birthday.
Shu Ningmiao lowered her eyes, staring at her face reflected on the darkened screen of the terminal. Her slightly red eyes had a faint bluish tinge, and her cheeks were completely bloodless.
The overwhelming amount of information weighed heavily on her temples, causing a dull ache. She forced a smile at her disheveled reflection on the screen, then gracefully picked up her teacup.
Her slender fingers tapped lightly on the rim of the cup, the dark red tea glistening with moisture. The rising steam from the cup blurred her vision, and she suddenly felt that everything was unfamiliar.
Whether it was the carvings on the lintel of the room in front of her or the white porcelain tea set with relief carvings in her hand, they were things she was so familiar with that she could imagine the patterns even with her eyes closed, yet they seemed so unfamiliar at this moment.
Whether it's her familiar home or the world around her.
The opening animation has ended. Would you like to replay it?
The terminal screen flickered on and off, then automatically lit up on the table. Two options stubbornly remained on the color screen. Shu Ningmiao hesitated for a moment before selecting "Yes".
The screen went black and entered autoplay mode. Frame after frame of dreamlike images jumped up and down. When the screen lit up again, a girl's back appeared as she looked up at the magnificent school gate in the distance.
The narrator's voice gradually grew louder in Shu Ningmiao's ear.
The University of Cornunos, located in Pinne, is the future of all the knowledge, wisdom, power, and wealth on the planet.
The independent college within the University of Kornunos, Stringlight Academy, is the only place on the entire planet where supernatural abilities education can be conducted, and it is also the core of Kornunos that only a select few can enter.
For ordinary people to gain admission to the University of Cornunos, they must become "top students" through exceptional intelligence.
Unlike other academies, String Light Academy requires one to awaken the "Pandora" ability to gain entry.
"—A poor girl from an orphanage never imagined that one day she would stand in front of this academy that is known as the center of the world."
The narration tone shifted, the screen shattered, and scenes flashed back, mimicking fragmented human memories. Shu Ningmiao, who had already watched it once, grabbed the terminal and stared coldly at the screen.
The girl who had just been standing at the school gate stood in the classroom, being scrutinized by countless people around her whose faces she couldn't see, with mocking and critical eyes.
"The innocent and kind-hearted girl was unaware that the upper class had its own rules and never tolerated the weak."
The silhouette flashed by, and Shu Ningmiao frowned as she saw her own indifferent profile in the silhouette, revealing an arrogance that wouldn't even spare the other person a glance.
That's right, the character in the animation looks exactly like her, even the pearl necklace she's wearing is drawn exactly the same.
The screen flipped, revealing five silhouettes whose faces were indistinct.
"The girl encounters five different characters with distinct personalities and gradually comes to understand their inner thoughts amidst the twists and turns of her school life."
The screen zoomed in on one of the silhouettes, from which a blurry animation popped up. In the pouring rain, a girl was forced to take shelter in the music room. The classroom, which should have been empty, was filled with beautiful piano music. The perfect "prince" of the academy, in the soft moonlight, gentlemanly draped his coat over her as she got wet, and from then on, they were bound by an indissoluble bond.
"That's too cliché," Shu Ningmiao said calmly, stroking the warm porcelain surface of the tea set with her fingertips.
A beautiful scene flashed by, and several silhouettes flickered across the screen.
The background of the image finally freezes on the iconic tower of the University of Cornuños, scrolling upwards before suddenly ending in darkness, revealing a slogan.
"Welcome to the first romance game set in a school with superpowers."
Several classical cursive characters appeared above: Secret Love.
Congratulations! You've received your acceptance letter from Stringlight Academy!
The screen was filled with a piece of paper that was slowly unfolded, on which two school badges were simply placed side by side, and the title was written in black ancient font: String Light Academy Admission Notice.
The game system's cursor prompted her to enter the player's name on the blank line below the acceptance letter.
Shu Ningmiao tried clicking the cursor, but there was no response. The terminal was stuck on this screen, completely still, as if it had crashed.
Shu Ningmiao had no interest in studying the specific contents of the admission notice. She put down the terminal and picked up the only other thing on the tea table besides the terminal, which was an admission notice that was exactly the same as the one on the screen.
The actual notification in her hand had the following words clearly stated under the title:
Dear Shu Ningmiao:
Congratulations on being accepted into our school by Pandora's bounty, a gift from the flame of knowledge. We sincerely look forward to your joining us and exploring this world together.
Admissions Office of String Light Academy
Shu Ningmiao placed the admission notice and the terminal together; apart from the blank name section, they were identical.
The terminal seemed to have been completely frozen by the game, with the screen stuck on the admission notice image, unable to even return to the main interface. Shu Ningmiao regretted her rash decision to insert the game chip of unknown origin into the terminal.
No matter how you look at it, this is just an extremely clichéd dating game.
—If the game's setting weren't the String Light Academy she was about to enroll in.
—If she hadn't seen an almost 1:1 replica of herself in the game's opening animation.
Shu Ningmiao knew very well that, given the image of superhumans and the reputation of being the "center of the world," no one in this world would dare to use String Light Academy as a backdrop for a ridiculous romance game.
This is definitely not something that can be openly sold on the market.
Recalling the origin of this chip, Shu Ningmiao couldn't help but frown.
After receiving her acceptance letter from String Light Academy, she had a fever on and off for three days until she woke up an hour ago and found the chip on the low cabinet next to her bed.
By some strange twist of fate—or perhaps because she was still somewhat delirious from just recovering from a fever—she inserted the rather eerie-looking chip into the terminal and was caught off guard to see herself in the game's opening animation.
She fiddled with the terminal, confirming that it was indeed stuck. Helpless, she flipped the terminal over and tried to forcibly pry out the game chip inside.
Service personnel at retail outlets usually remind users that it's best to insert or remove the chip after the interface has popped up; forcibly inserting or removing it could damage the terminal and the chip. Unfortunately, Shu Ningmiao never buys terminals from department store counters and never reads the instruction manual.
A chip about the size of her fingernail was pried out, with a small icon on it and the title "Secret Love" written in cursive script.
Shu Ningmiao frowned slightly as she stared at the game chip.
When I came to my senses again, I found that the terminal screen had gone completely black with a crackling sound.
She pressed every button on the terminal before confirming that it was indeed burnt out.
The lights in all the corridors of the house were on all night, so Shu Ningmiao didn't really feel whether it was dawn or not. It wasn't until her body was stiff with cold that she woke up as if from a dream and found that she had been staring blankly at the burnt screen until dawn.
There were too many questions that needed answering, and her mind was a jumbled mess. But no matter what, the source was this gaming chip, and to get more information, she would have to buy a new terminal.
As for whether the new terminal will also be damaged, she hasn't figured out a solution yet.
The area outside the room seemed more lively than in the past few days. Today was her day to register at school. Shu Ningmiao changed into a proper uniform, smoothed out her short jacket until no wrinkles were visible, and then slowly opened the door.
To her surprise, the noise outside did not come from the cleaning staff.
A tall young man stood in the open-air hall on the first floor, holding a plate. His wolf tail, which was in the way, was tied into a small bun. The moment Shu Ningmiao pushed open the door, he had already looked up at her with keen eyes.
Shu Ningmiao leaned against the railing of the corridor, silently watching his figure below, before finally coming downstairs after a long while.
"elder brother."
Shu Ningmiao sat down at the dining table, subtly turning her head to the side, her voice carrying a dry politeness.
"Oh, brother." Shu Changyan repeated in her dry tone, placing the plate of cheese and steak in front of her. He raised an eyebrow, gazed at her face, and suddenly laughed: "Didn't you sleep last night?"
Shu Ningmiao immediately lowered her head and used the broken terminal screen as a mirror to reflect her face. In the screen's reflection, her face was fair and flawless, the color of foundation, showing no signs of paleness or haggardness.
She casually put the terminal away, poked holes in her steak with her fork, and changed the subject: "Why are you back?"
Shu Changyan was always in the central military region of Pinnech, which was supposed to be completely closed off, and even statutory holidays were practically nonexistent.
Shu Changyan sat opposite her and glanced at her upon hearing this: "Because today is your birthday."
Shu Ningmiao paused in her movements, without saying a word. The long dining table for ten people was especially spacious with only the two of them sitting facing each other. Apart from each other, there was no third person in the room.
Shu Changyan pushed the small box in front of her: "A birthday present, or perhaps a welcome gift for starting school?"
Before this, her attention was completely focused on Shu Changyan, and she didn't even notice the conspicuous gift box on the dining table. Shu Ningmiao opened the gift box and immediately saw the model number marked on the simple packaging: G620 military terminal.
“Isn’t this military-grade? I’ll get arrested if I take it out.” Shu Ningmiao’s expression was subtle. “Besides, I have a terminal.”
In fact, she was planning to ask the housekeeper to get a new terminal.
"It's okay, I've already applied." Shu Changyan smiled at her, the small braid gathered at the back of his head swaying with his laughter: "Take a look, it's a special design made especially for you, I'm sure you'll like it..."
Hearing him say that, Shu Ningmiao felt a sense of foreboding. She opened the packaging and took out a delicate terminal.
As expected of a military-grade terminal, it weighs almost half as much as the one she broke.
They look similar, both being rectangular with a semi-transparent screen, about the thickness of a coin, and with two slots on the back for inserting chips.
The most unique feature is that, apart from the screen, all the buttons on this terminal are inlaid with tiny pearls and gemstones, radiating a dazzling aura, and at the end is a bow pendant with a childish pattern of a smiling puppy.
"How is it? Does it look good?" Shu Changyan, oblivious to the danger, leaned closer.
“Ugly,” Shu Ningmiao squeezed out a single word.
Upon hearing this, Shu Changyan helplessly propped his forehead up and leaned back in his chair: "There's no need to be so decisive!"
Shu Ningmiao responded vaguely to his rambling, revealing a somewhat absent-minded expression.
She gripped the terminal in her hand, then slowly unfolded her other hand under the table, revealing the inexplicably appearing game chip lying quietly in her palm.
Wait a minute... If it's a military terminal, it might be able to run this chip smoothly and see the content after the opening animation.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
