Chapter 1: The Good-for-Nothing with Zero Spiritual Power

Lianfei descended from the mountain and, from a distance, saw their house surrounded by a circle of guards clad in white armor. In that instant, she understood what had happened—her family had been selected, and someone was to be chosen to participate in Eden!

Lianfei immediately ran back, forcefully pushing aside the guards blocking her way. As she burst through the door, she saw two tall guards dragging her father down from the second floor.

“No! No! Please, I beg you! Don’t do this!” her mother cried, clutching the guard’s arm. “My husband is the only pillar of this family! Without him, how could us women and children survive?”

“Madam, it is an honor for your family to be chosen for Eden. Spare us the wailing and howling, or I will take it as contempt for the Federation!”

At these words from the captain of the guard, her mother went rigid.

Her father’s face was ashen. He looked at her mother and croaked, “Sangsang, it’s all right. I’ll come back alive.”

“No! No!” Her mother flung herself at him. “You still have old injuries. Your bones ache with every change in weather—how could you survive?!”

The captain of the guard, now clearly impatient, said, “Or perhaps we should take your youngest daughter instead.”

As he spoke, two guards brought Lianfei’s little sister down from upstairs. The girl was only five years old, far too young to comprehend what was happening, and terror had her bawling uncontrollably.

“No! No!” Both parents screamed now.

“I’ll go. I’ll go instead!” their mother shouted.

“No!” her father shoved her aside, addressing the captain, “Sir, take me now! I’ll come with you!”

Chaos erupted in the house.

“I’ll go,” Lianfei said loudly.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“I’ll take my father’s place,” she said, setting down her basket of freshly caught rabbits by the wall and looking at the captain. “Let’s go.”

“No, you can’t, you mustn’t! Absolutely not! You—” her father rasped, clutching at the guard desperately. “Take me! Take me now!”

Her mother echoed him, shouting, “Take me! I’ll go!”

The captain waved his hand, signaling the guards to release her father and sister. He had his men restrain the parents instead, sneering, “By the rules of precedence, I’ll take your daughter. As for your eagerness, I hope you’ll be just as willing next time.”

The rules of precedence allowed for voluntary participation in Eden, but when there were too many volunteers, the youngest would be chosen first.

Eden was held every five years, initiated by Sarenfor, the top-ranking planet in the Federation. Every planet in the Federation, Sarenfor included, was required to send a team of ten participants.

The victorious planet received generous rewards from the Federation, including but not limited to 3S-class mechas and guaranteed admission to the Federation’s military academy.

Every member of the winning team would be allowed to bring their family to settle on Sarenfor, gaining household registration and the privileges of a higher class.

The rewards were alluring, but in the past 142 tournaments, the winners had always come from the top three planets in the rankings.

For participants from other worlds, entering Eden was tantamount to a death sentence.

This was why, on any planet outside those privileged three, the government drew lots to select candidates for Eden—otherwise, no one would volunteer.

The guards, fearing Lianfei might change her mind, hurried her into a vehicle, barely waiting for the safety announcement to finish before speeding off.

Looking out the window, Lianfei saw her parents weeping by the house, clutching her little sister.

Seated beside her, the captain of the guard raised a brow. “Aren’t you sad?”

She turned her gaze away. “I am sad,” she replied flatly.

He eyed her face, skeptical. “Doesn’t show.”

She shot him a glance.

He shrugged, helpless, and grinned. “You know, in all these years, you’re the first volunteer for Eden from Gesero.”

Lianfei said nothing, head lowered, picking at the dried blood on her hands.

The ride continued in silence. Eventually, the vehicle began to descend.

They stopped before a tall, gleaming silver building—the dormitory for Gesero’s Eden team.

As Lianfei opened the door to get out, someone called after her.

Turning, she saw the captain smiling at her. “I hope you come back alive.”

She nodded slightly, then walked into the building without looking back.

The first floor was a lobby, with a reception desk and elevators to the upper stories.

A smiling android receptionist emerged to greet her. “Hello, Lianfei. My name is Shalin. Please allow me to help you get acquainted with the dormitory.”

The android’s voice was tinged with a mechanical, genderless tone that was faintly unsettling.

Lianfei nodded. “Thank you.”

The second floor was the cafeteria, so well-stocked that Lianfei stood frozen in surprise.

Gesero ranked last in the Federation; its technology and development were far behind. Poverty was its defining feature.

So she was astonished to see enough food for three full meals each day.

Shalin seemed to notice her confusion. “All of this is voluntarily, willingly provided by the people.”

After all, this meal might be the last for some of them.

“Can I take some out for others?” she asked.

“No.”

“Oh.” Lianfei scratched her cheek and looked away. Pity.

“Out of the way! Move!” A man built like a bear barreled out of the elevator.

Shalin and Lianfei stepped aside in unison.

The man ignored them, grabbed a plate, and piled it high with food in the blink of an eye, then sat down and devoured it as if he hadn’t eaten in years.

“Let’s go see the other floors,” Shalin said with a smile.

Lianfei nodded.

Before entering the elevator, she felt a burning gaze upon her. When she turned, she saw only the man still wolfing down meat.

She narrowed her eyes.

“That was Luo Zheng,” Shalin said as the elevator doors closed. “Like you, he volunteered for Eden. In fact, out of the ten team members this year, seven volunteered—including you.”

Lianfei was surprised.

“But the captain said I was the first...”

“Yes. The second, third, and so on followed. I have a feeling this year, Gesero will be the victor.”

Lianfei raised her brow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The third floor was the training room, filled with exercise equipment and simulators for combat practice.

Clearly, the Gesero government had invested heavily.

There were already four people training, plus one in a simulator.

A woman lifting weights smiled and approached Lianfei.

“Hello, I’m Murong,” she said, extending a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Lianfei shook it. “Lianfei.”

Murong nodded. “Did you come from far away? You’re the last to arrive.”

Lianfei tilted her head. “Perhaps.”

Murong smiled. “Would you like to rest, eat, or join us in training?”

She gestured to the others.

Lianfei looked and saw three people glancing her way. The person in the simulator took off their helmet to look at her as well.

Murong introduced them one by one. “That’s Xingluo—don’t be fooled by her cute looks, she’s a poison expert.”

A girl in a lolita dress, hugging a teddy bear, nodded at Lianfei.

“That’s Shen Ziqian—he’s a bit frail, but smart, a whiz with electronics and data. We’re making him work out, so he doesn’t collapse during Eden.”

A boy panting on the treadmill waved weakly at her.

“That’s Xu Ang—a demolition expert, top of the class in chemistry, and bomb-making. But he’s got a poor memory, so we call him Pig.”

“Hey!” Xu Ang protested, hands on hips.

“And that’s Lilith—the only one of us who’s ever piloted a mecha. She used to be a noble of Sarenfor—the daughter of the Zalokt family...”

The red-haired girl in the simulator interrupted. “A fake daughter. Some criminals switched me with the real one. I was actually from Gesero all along. When the real one returned, they sent me back.”

She stepped out of the simulator and bowed with perfect aristocratic form. “I’m Lilith.”

Lianfei bowed in return. “I’m Lianfei.”

“What a lovely name,” Lilith said with a smile.

“Thank you.”

Murong turned to Lilith. “There are mecha challenges in Eden. Lilith, we’ll be counting on you to teach us the basics.”

Lilith smiled gently. “It’s my honor.”

Even a D-class mecha was a rarity here. Gesero had only five mechas in total—two D-class, two C-class, and one B-class—all reserved for the military. Civilians hardly ever saw one, let alone piloted one.

But on Sarenfor, almost everyone had a mecha. High-ranking officials’ children owned several A-class, even S-class mechas.

Murong turned to Lianfei. “So, Lianfei, will you train with us?”

“Tomorrow, if you don’t mind,” Lianfei replied.

Murong smiled. “No problem. Eden won’t begin for a month.”

This month was for learning the rules and building camaraderie among the team—a last-minute scramble.

Lianfei bade them farewell and followed Shalin into the elevator.

After she left, Xingluo pouted. “She’s so rude.”

Xu Ang rolled his eyes. “Yeah, she’s so full of herself.”

He turned to Shen Ziqian. “Do you know who she is? What makes her so arrogant?”

Shen Ziqian, gulping water, opened his wrist computer and, after a few swift taps, pulled up Lianfei’s profile.

“Lianfei, female, eighteen, lives at the foot of Mount Momo in District Thirteen. Parents and a five-year-old sister.”

He fell silent.

“That’s it?” Xu Ang asked, incredulous.

“That’s it,” Shen Ziqian said, closing his device.

Xingluo’s eyes widened. “What about her mental power level? There’s nothing?”

Shen Ziqian sent the data to the group chat:

Name: Lianfei
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Family: Father (59), Mother (58), Sister (5)
Address: North foot of Mount Momo, District 13, Gesero
Planetary registration: /
Mental power level: /
Mecha piloting ability: /
School record: /
Medical history: /
Evaluation: /
Other: /

One slash after another—all blanks. The room fell silent.

“Lilith, have you ever seen such a strange profile before?” Murong asked.

Lilith was quiet for a moment. “I’ve only seen one other like it. That person scored a zero on the mental power test and was immediately dismissed from further testing.”

In other words, a zero meant total failure—no point in continuing.

“A useless nobody, then. I thought she was something special, acting so high and mighty.” Xu Ang scoffed. “Murong, let’s just ignore her. She’ll be the first to die.”

Xingluo chimed in, “Yeah, or we could use her as cannon fodder—send her in first.”

Murong waved a hand. “Enough, let’s get back to training.”

“Okay!”

The fourth and fifth floors were dormitories—single rooms, fully equipped.

Lianfei’s room was at the end of the fifth floor.

Shalin led her there and smiled. “I’ve shown you around the building. If you have any questions, you can add me as a contact on your wrist computer and reach out anytime.”

He opened his device. Lianfei hesitated. “I don’t have a wrist computer.”

Shalin’s smile faltered.

He hadn’t expected that—even the poorest should have at least the most basic model.

He closed his device. “No problem. I’ll help you apply for one and have it delivered later.”

Lianfei nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. As a contestant, you have the highest priority, second only to the planetary governor.”

With that, he left.

Lianfei scratched her cheek, used facial recognition to unlock the door, and entered her new room.