As she was sent flying, Ning Xuan felt a piercing low-frequency sound wave stab into her temples like a steel needle, churning her entire brain. The air in the laboratory suddenly grew viscous. Blue and white spots of light exploded across her retinas as if someone had thrown a handful of sand into her eyes. The rapidly flashing specks made her feel as if her eyes were a malfunctioning monitor about to go haywire.

Ning Xuan’s throat suddenly tightened. A wave of nausea hit her, and bitter acid surged up her esophagus. At the same time, a weightless, dizzying sensation washed over her, and her eardrums throbbed with pressure. She felt as if she were plummeting into a bottomless abyss.

Ning Xuan immediately channeled energy into the acupoints and meridians near her brain. Forming a Finger Technique with her hands, she began circulating the Clear Heart Technique. A fiery energy rose from her blood and entered her meridians, spreading rapidly toward her ears. A clear, crane-like cry suddenly rang out in her ear canals, and the pressure and dizziness vanished instantly. Nine flame-like red threads ascended from her Dantian, converging above her Baihui Acupoint to form the phantom of a plump little red bird.

The Little Red Bird flapped its wings and chirped softly. The piercing sound waves became muffled, as if heard through a curtain of water. The dancing spots of light on her retinas gradually faded, and her vision returned to normal. Only then did Ning Xuan realize she had slammed into an ice-cold wall. She pushed off it, bracing against a powerful gale as she tried to retreat, but the wind suddenly changed direction. With a SMACK, she was thrown against the opposite wall.

Ning Xuan was prepared this time. She twisted in mid-air to reorient herself, gathered strength in her feet, and kicked off the wall. Using the rebound, she leaped back toward the center of the room. After repeating this a few times, she finally found a way to maintain her balance in the storm.

Just as Ning Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt the air around her become scorching hot. She looked down to see transparent blisters forming on the skin of her hands as if they were being burned. The air she inhaled was searing. A moment later, a burning pain spread across her skin. Ning Xuan bit the tip of her tongue, spat out a mist of blood, and traced an Ice Talisman in it with her finger. Upon activation, visible patterns of frost condensed in the air, and a transparent barrier of ice crystals formed around her.

Ning Xuan turned to look at the indoor thermometer on the laboratory wall. The display had already jumped from a standard room temperature of 23°C to 71°C, and it was still climbing.

A bright red flame ignited on the tip of Ning Xuan’s left index finger. ’The Ice Talisman won’t last long in this environment,’ she thought. She tried to channel the Fire Element Energy from her meridians and acupoints to the surface of her body. The Fire Element Energy born from her own bloodline could resist the extreme external heat.

With a CRACK, the Ice Talisman’s energy depleted and it shattered. Just as the searing pain returned to her skin, the Little Red Bird phantom above her head spat a ball of fire down, enveloping her completely. The Little Red Bird dissipated, and bright red flames ignited on the surface of Ning Xuan’s skin. The pain vanished. She felt a pleasant warmth spread from the inside out, as if she were bathing in sunlight.

While Ning Xuan used every trick she had to survive the simulated interstellar storm, a curious crowd had already gathered outside the laboratory.

"Which senior is that in there? The training just started, and they’re already running an interstellar storm simulation. That’s intense!"

"Didn’t the instructor say we’re supposed to simulate the other environments first? We’re only supposed to tackle the interstellar storm after we’ve fully adapted. It includes extreme cold, extreme heat, and zero gravity, doesn’t it?"

"I saw who went in," said a young man squatting at the front, raising his hand. "It was a beautiful young woman."

"What? Why didn’t you say so earlier?" The crowd erupted. "Someone tell Dean Bai, quick! We have to get her out of there. If something happens to her, we’re all in deep trouble." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"He already said that. You actually believe him? A woman lasting this long in a simulated interstellar storm? I don’t buy it."

"I don’t believe it either. Besides, telling Dean Bai would be useless. The lab doors can’t be opened while a simulation is running. You have to wait until it’s over." Apparently, someone in the crowd had already suggested a rescue.

"An extreme environment simulation session lasts for half an hour. It’s only been ten minutes." In those ten minutes, the crowd had continued to grow.

"If it really is a woman in there... what if she dies inside?" someone asked, their voice trembling with anxiety.

The crowd fell silent. If the person inside was a High-level Controller and something happened to her, everyone present would face the consequences. Even if the law doesn’t punish a crowd, her Contractors would hold a grudge. If one of her Contractors was particularly powerful, none of these bystanders would be able to get away.

"If the person’s vital signs become critical, the simulation will end early," someone who had done the training before and knew the rules explained from the crowd.

This explanation did little to reassure them. A man, with his physical constitution, might be saved if his vitals became critical. But a woman... that was another story.

"Hey, you," someone said, addressing the young man at the front who had spoken up earlier. "Since you saw it was a woman, did you see if she had anyone with her? Do you know who she is?"

"No, she didn’t have a companion, and I don’t know who she is," the young man replied. "But she seemed to know Miss Shen Wenwen. If we need to find her family, we could ask Miss Shen." The young man had noticed Ning Xuan before she even entered the classroom for the unrestricted group. Since Shen Wenwen was a well-known figure, he was able to offer this clue about their connection.

"Ker, go find Dean Bai," someone in the crowd instructed. "Tell him the situation here and see if there’s any way to end the simulation early. I’ll go find Miss Shen and see if we can get in touch with her family." After the young man provided the clue about Shen Wenwen, the onlookers fell silent. They were all starting to believe that it really was a woman in there.

Ning Xuan was exhausted by the constantly shifting extreme environments. She had no idea how much time had passed, only that fine beads of sweat were trickling down her forehead and neck. The reading on the indoor thermometer finally returned to normal. The current simulation was a zero-gravity environment. She withdrew the energy from the surface of her body and relaxed, letting herself float in mid-air. Based on the patterns she’d deduced, she knew she had about five minutes to catch her breath.