No one's truly relaxed on the first day of school.
At exactly 6:30 a.m., the music alarm began to play.
The lights came on in quiet layers from ceiling to floor.
A soft indicator at the bathroom door started blinking—
as if some invisible system had pulled open the curtain to a new day.
No one groaned.
No one stalled.
All four of them rose, brushed, dressed—
their movements so in sync, it didn't look like a first morning together.
**
Zhiheng yawned while splashing water on his face.
"Dreamt we were swimming again. Whole body in sore now."
Gao Mo walked past the bathroom.
"Maybe you were kicking in real life too."
"How'd you know what I dreamt?"
"The walls are thin."
"Damn."
The changes were fast.
Light teasing, fast hands on collars and bag straps.
No wasted time.
**
Elric didn't join in.
Just got ready in silence, and waited by the door.
He noticed something—
Despite their different personalities,
when it came to time,
they all moved the same way.
No dragging.
No extra chatter.
As if they already understood:
This place runs on rules.
And rules don't wait.
**
Breakfast was nutritionally balanced.
Grains, protein, fruit—check.
Even a printed nutrient breakdown on each tray.
Aunt Ann poured hot tea and said:
"Your floor had full check-in compliance yesterday.
Let's not break the streak today."
Yuanxiao muttered through a mouthful of toast:
"She makes it sound like we're in special forces."
Elric glanced at him. Didn't comment.
But he remembered it.
He understood—
In such tightly wired school,
humor wasn't relaxation.
It was reaction.
**
At 7:40 sharp, the shuttle bus arrived downstairs.
They picked up their identical school bags.
Boarded in order.
The windows were mirrored from the inside.
The city drifted past—
but no one from outside could see in.
No one on the bus spoke.
A senior girl near the front reviewed study notes.
A few new students in the middle filled out morning assessments.
And the four of them—
sat in the very back row, like a new species quietly watching the mainland unfold.
**
Ten minutes later, the bus slowed as they entered the main campus.
A spread of steel and glass towers rose in precise lines.
Above the gate, metallic letters shimmered under early light:
ATHENA GLOBAL INTELLECT ACADEMY
It was Elric's first time seeing the school gates.
His eyes stopped at the school motto beneath—
etched in Latin:
Praepara Te Regere
Prepare Yourself to Rule.
He didn't say it aloud.
But in his mind, the words echoed.
This wasn't just a day of lessons.
It was a day of measurement.
Observation.
Sorting.
Placement.
Whatever welcome the school offered—
it was built into systems,
not smiles.
—
[Chapter Prologue]
No one relaxes on the first day.
Because they all know—
This school isn't designed to make you comfortable.
It's designed to decide if you belong.