Chapter 7: Quiet Moments (In gratitude to Yin Feng Ting Xue for their patronage)

Heshia fell asleep in a new place, not waking until after 10:00 the next morning.

Glancing at the time, she let out a cry of surprise. She sat up and began changing her clothes, worrying whether waking up so late would leave a bad impression. Once dressed, she slipped into her slippers and hurried downstairs, where she found Grandma He sitting in the living room playing with her granddaughter.

"Heshia is awake. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Sister is finally up! I wanted to go wake you earlier, but Grandma wouldn't let me," Lisa said, looking as if to clarify that it wasn't her fault.

"Now, now. It's Heshia's first time staying with us; she needs time to adjust, just like you can't sleep when you go to your uncle's house," Grandma He soothed her granddaughter.

"I see," Lisa nodded.

Grandma He showed Heshia where to wash up and then brought over a simple breakfast of warm bread, milk, and a fried egg. As Heshia ate, Grandma He turned on the television, and Lisa ran over to watch.

"To further address unemployment, the Federal Parliament has decided to increase the AI tax rate once again. Heavy taxes will be levied on the production and use of Tier 6 to Tier 2 AIs to reduce scenarios where AI replaces human workers, allowing more residents to find employment..." the news broadcast announced. "Following are the comments from various representatives."

"Councilor Tulum stated that this is an absolute regression of the era! To abandon highly efficient production models for the sake of so-called employment rates will inevitably lead to a decline in the Federation's overall strength, reduce the willingness of major enterprises to develop AI, and ultimately cause the entire nation to lose its competitiveness."

"On the other hand, Councilor Malts believes this measure is necessary. Because the use of AI has deprived many federal residents of the right to participate in the social order, it will inevitably lead to security issues in the long run. Furthermore, if a large number of consumers are lost, manufactured goods will pile up without buyers, ultimately leading to the collapse of the entire economic cycle."

"What restricts the improvement of productivity is sometimes not efficiency or materials, but the lack of a massive consumer market to absorb it."

"Broadcast concluded. This news was released on April 17, Wing Star Sector A2-6223 (Silver Fire Tower), at 11:15:37 AM."

*Yesterday's news,* Heshia thought.

Although the various star sectors within the Federation had instantaneous trans-spatial communication, these channels were reserved for high-priority information. Normally, the star sector network was synchronized once every three days. This meant that if Heshia were to send an email to a friend in another sector, the recipient might have to wait three days for the network to sync before receiving it. The network of each sector and the main Federal network were not always in sync, resulting in a degree of latency.

After breakfast, Heshia helped clear the table and sat down to talk with Grandma He and Lisa.

"How are you recovering, Heshia?" Grandma He asked with concern.

"I feel alright. It's not as sore anymore," the young girl said, flexing her wrists.

"That's good."

"By the way, you were returning from the admissions assessment, weren't you?"

"Yes, but I haven't received a reply yet," Heshia said, sounding a bit anxious.

"It will be fine. Everything will work out."

"You should just rest and recover at home for these next few days. Occasionally, when Lisa and the neighborhood children come over, you can help them with their homework. It shouldn't take too long. Once you're healed, you can go back."

Since the girl had accepted payment for tutoring, she didn't decline. She nodded, and the two continued to chat about other things.

"Do you have any plans for the future, Heshia? I may be old, but I have many children; perhaps I can ask around for you."

"For the future? I suppose I'll find a simple job during the break to save some money, then try for high school. I'm just worried I won't get in..." Heshia’s voice trailed off, sounding a little despondent.

"How are your usual grades?"

"In terms of theoretical subjects, I..." Heshia recited the scores she had filled out on the admissions assessment form a few days prior.

"Those are excellent grades," the elderly woman said, shaking her head slightly to indicate that the girl was worrying too much.

Literature, Mathematics, and Aijeka Theory were each scored out of 150, and Heshia had scored over 120 in each. Other subjects were scored out of 80, and Heshia’s marks were mostly around 70. While there was a gap between her and the top-tier students, considering she came from Pason City—a city with underdeveloped education—her performance was no small feat.

The two talked for a long time, and Grandma He learned of Heshia’s family situation, feeling deeply sympathetic.

Later, Heshia returned to her room for a nap, then spent some time reading and reviewing what she had learned in the past to prepare for the tutoring sessions in the coming days.

In the afternoon, six children arrived at Grandma He’s house.

"It’s Sister Heshia!"

"The big sister with grey hair has turned into a big sister with black hair!"

"Sister Heshia is a hero! She’s even better than Super Beechy!"

"What’s that?"

"Super Beechy is a superhero with an Ailans alloy structure, a Luria system, three transformation forms, and a Psionic sequence of 7. She punishes bad guys and is incredibly powerful!" It seemed to be a character from some television show.

"Is she even capable? I’m an honor student in my class," a bespectacled boy said, glancing at the black-haired girl while clutching his materials, clearly doubting she was anything more than a pretty face.

"Sandy, you aren't allowed to badmouth Sister Heshia!" the other children argued. Among the six, three had been saved by Heshia, and they had become her loyal little followers.

"Quiet down, everyone," Heshia said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the noisy children.

Fortunately, several of them were obedient, or perhaps they were simply in awe of the heroic image she had left in their minds.

Seeing that the children had finally quieted down, Heshia led them to the living room to sit together. A mat had already been spread on the floor, so there was no need to worry about dirtying their clothes.

"Let’s start by talking about where you are currently in your studies," Heshia began.

"We are learning..." The children scrambled to speak. Gradually, Heshia gained a general understanding of their progress.

*Phew, that’s a relief,* she thought. *Everything is within my grasp; elementary school material isn't too complicated.*

However, considering everyone was at a different stage, Heshia had them start on their homework first. She slowly reviewed their notes, previous test papers, and grades, gradually sorting out their individual situations.

Lisa’s grades were quite good, ranking about third among them. Second was a boy named Guy, who was also one of the children from that day. The first-place student was a stranger named Sandy—the bespectacled boy who had boasted about being an honor student.

Sandy was in the top tier, with near-perfect scores in every subject. Lisa and Guy were in the second tier and were also very bright. The other three children were somewhat mediocre, each with their own weak subjects.

Once she understood the situation, Heshia began guiding them one by one. Instead of starting with their weak subjects, she focused first on the subjects they were already good at, allowing them to leverage their strengths and achieve even better results.

Although Heshia was not particularly skilled at socializing, she had studied hard, which was why she was able to achieve excellent results despite her impoverished educational resources. In the current society, due to the division of labor, people with specialized skills were more in demand. Human energy is limited, and being mediocre at everything is rarely a good choice.

The purpose of learning is ultimately to be applied. Of course, for these children, the priority was to achieve high enough comprehensive scores to get into a good school. Helping them improve their strong subjects would boost their confidence and give them a point of pride among their peers, preventing them from feeling inferior. Furthermore, it is always easier to improve in a subject one is already good at.

With that foundation, they could then circle back to address the weaker subjects; having experienced success, the children would have more confidence and perseverance, making them less likely to give up. Moreover, according to the psychological principle of completion, people are more motivated to finish a pattern that is nearly complete, whereas a messy, fragmented pattern can seem too daunting to bother with.

Over the next few days, Heshia tutored the six children at home. Since it was the holiday, they didn't have to go to school.

One day, Sandy brought a problem to Heshia.

"Sister Tila, how should I solve this?"

"This one?" The young girl brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and examined it closely.

"This shouldn't be part of your current curriculum, should it?" Heshia realized this was material usually encountered in middle school.

"Next semester, I’m going to participate in a competition. This is the material the teacher found for me."

"Participating in competitions in elementary school? That really is..." Heshia shook her head, choosing not to comment on whether it was appropriate.

The problem involved an intermediate formula related to the Natural Sequence and a special imprint formed by that formula. These were things usually learned when advancing from Sequence 1 to Sequence 2.

A Sequence 1 transcendent core was very simple—essentially a small ball of light containing condensed magic of the same sequence, kept stable by 7 to 9 formulaic patterns. It possessed the most basic ability to store and output Aijeka particles.

Sequence 2 was much more complex, requiring about 8 to 20 imprints to maintain. Each imprint contained 3 to 12 different formulas; the overall workload was 10 to 30 times that of Sequence 1, and the complexity skyrocketed.

Therefore, Heshia was considered a very outstanding student for having advanced to Sequence 2 before graduating from middle school. Such students made up less than 10% of the population; about two-thirds of students didn't advance to Sequence 2 until high school.

Although the complexity and workload increased significantly, starting from Sequence 2, one was truly granted transcendent abilities. For instance, Heshia could see ghosts, perceive things through ordinary materials, and even use special formulas to convert the magic of the Withered Sequence into something lethal.

If Heshia were to advance to Withered Sequence 3, her various abilities would be further enhanced. For example, she could expand her sensory range from 50 meters to 100–160 meters. A high-sequence core would also allow her to use offensive techniques like "Snake-Eye Shock" or "Mental Spike." If she were equipped with a gun, she could use her sensory perception to lock onto targets, greatly increasing her hit rate, though these were generally military techniques not taught in regular high schools.

Amidst the simulated sound of crashing waves and sunlight, Heshia sat at the table, writing formulas with a pen. The black ink traced complex and beautiful trajectories that even a layman could perceive as art.

"Finally, bring the vine-leaf formula at the end of the imprint together so that its trajectory connects with the starting point, forming a complete closed loop. Do you see?" She looked up, her light blue eyes amidst the soft black hair as clear as the sky, earnest and reassuring.

"I... I understand," Sandy felt flustered for the first time. He turned his head away, not daring to look into those eyes. *How can she be so beautiful? Sister Tila’s charm has increased again.*

"Are you sure you understand? It’s alright if you don't; it is quite complex. I can explain it again." The black-haired girl thought the boy might be bluffing.

"It’s fine, I can figure it out myself." Perhaps not wanting to admit he was weak, or perhaps wanting to appear more capable, Sandy took the materials and walked back to his corner with small steps.

*Hm?* The girl tilted her head, slightly puzzled, but the other children crowded around.

*Time spent studying is truly precious,* the children had realized recently. At first, they hadn't held high expectations for Heshia’s tutoring, thinking she would be like their previous teachers—giving dull lectures or just handing out answers.

But after spending these days together, this girl, who looked as beautiful as a vase, had truly won them over. Children are creatures who either look down on everyone or admire someone completely; whatever their idol says is absolute truth. Heshia was now firmly in the latter category.

"Sister Heshia, this one, this one! Explain it to me first."

"Don't listen to him! This is my house; Sister Heshia should explain it to me first!" Lisa held up her homework and papers, pushing aside her best friend and partner-in-crime.

"Alright, alright, don't rush. One at a time."

Heshia knelt on the floor, looking at the children before her. She found them both cute and amusing, and her life began to feel peaceful and quiet once more.