“Just because you can take the college entrance exam doesn't mean you'll pass.”
“If you don't pass the college entrance exam, you’ll be just like those students who dropped out yesterday—a void, a piece of trash breathing in the city.”
“Tell me, who among you is willing to become city trash?”
“Excellent, nobody speaks up. Then, in the next three months, every minute and every second must not be wasted! If you don’t train until you collapse, you'll train until you die!”
“Especially physical training. Everyone must train twice a day. Every move must be perfect.”
“I know many of you look down on physical training, considering it pointless. And you’re right, it is.”
“However, it’s a guaranteed point in the martial arts exam. If you want to pass the college entrance exam, you absolutely can’t lose points here. If you can’t even do this most basic training, you might as well leave now.”
“Now, everyone, let’s do a round together.”
A burly martial arts instructor, nearly two meters tall, stood in the center of the classroom.
His voice was rough, his tone sharp and forceful, his almost unreasonable shouting echoing throughout the training hall.
He demonstrated the moves while scrutinizing every student, unleashing a torrent of insults on anyone who made the slightest mistake.
In the past, this was Ivy's most dreaded moment in martial arts class, as terrifying as being called upon to sing a solo in music class.
Previously, there were many students who had withdrawn, leaving only her. Therefore, her awkward and strange movements were even more noticeable.
She was like a clumsy dancer in a professional sports performance.
“What the hell is wrong with your posture? A simple straight-leg kick is all it takes, and you’re struggling! Try it again.”
“Okay, they can do it. It's my fault.”
Ivy could feel the instructor's predatory gaze and felt her face burning.
Fortunately, the instructor didn't scold her and simply looked away.
Ivy was surprised. “Trash isn’t worth wasting saliva on, is that it? Good.”
Ivy didn’t feel ashamed. She simply slowed down her movements, moving like an old woman climbing stairs. Her movements were stiff and sluggish.
However, this allowed Ivy to somehow maintain a better posture.
Of course, to others, this would just appear as a complete waste of time and effort, a complete fool.
Ivy ignored the strange looks from others, her attention completely focused on her stomach.
“The distension is lessening! Physical training speeds up iron absorption?!”
Ivy had only intended to pretend to get through the two martial arts classes, but she had an unexpected gain.
30 minutes later.
Ivy, breathing heavily, finished a set of physical training exercises, an involuntary smile curving her lips.
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She thought to herself, “It really works! My stomach feels much better. The absorption rate has increased by more than double. If this continues, it will only take 50 days to reach 100% absorption rate, provided I train for 20 hours a day. Well, it's doable.”
“Hey, what are you smiling about? You look like that, and you’re still smiling? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” A scornful voice came from beside her.
Ivy glanced at the speaker, a student who had just endured the instructor's harsh training. She didn’t recognize his name.
“He’s just bottling up his anger and looking for someone to vent on. And I’m apparently the only one here even more pathetic than him, a perfect target for ridicule?”
Ivy, with the soul of a grown woman inhabiting her body, wasn’t going to get into a conflict over something meaningless. She wasn't interested in confronting someone with a deficient brain.
“I’m not as skilled as you are, and I’m very happy that I could even finish this set. You’re doing great. You’ll definitely get a high score on the college entrance exam. Good luck!” Ivy said sincerely, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Unnamed Student: “…”
She praised me and wished me good luck on the exam. She’s so weak, but she seems so genuine. Maybe I shouldn’t make fun of her.
[Unnamed Student] felt something was amiss, but couldn't put his finger on it. It was like punching cotton; his anger had nowhere to go, leaving him only more frustrated. He walked away dejectedly.
Ivy, having dismissed the idiot, moved a few steps further into the corner and resumed her physical training.
This time, because her physical strength was somewhat depleted, her movements were slower and more strenuous. She was drenched in sweat, like she was taking a sauna.
As a result, the absorption rate increased again.
From a distance, a girl with a high ponytail and heterochromatic eyes stared at Ivy in the corner with a hint of surprise, muttering, “That girl is clearly weak, but there’s something…”
...
Two more rounds of physical training, and over an hour passed.
When the martial arts training hall gradually emptied, and the students left in groups for lunch, Ivy stopped exercising.
She pressed her fingers against her stomach. The feeling of fullness had clearly subsided.
She estimated that about 3/10 of her stomach capacity was now available. 2/10 was from the digested iron beads, and 1/10 was from the snacks she’d eaten earlier.
“Can I stop eating regular meals and just eat iron from now on?” Ivy slightly regretted eating the snacks. She decided not to eat lunch or dinner.
Stretching her refreshed muscles and bones, Ivy felt a strange coolness, especially around her sternum, a chill that seemed to penetrate her skin. It might have been an illusion.
“Does eating iron first improve bone density?”
Martial arts training started with the skin, then progressed to the muscles, tendons, and finally the bones. Ivy was slightly surprised, but she didn’t dwell on it.
Exiting the classroom, Ivy went down the stairs, then up to the first-floor restroom. After checking that it was empty, she climbed out the window.
The men's restroom on the first floor had unevenly sized bushes and weeds outside the window. The tangled, lush growth was perfect for concealment, Ivy's chosen escape route.
Three minutes later.
Ivy, retracing her steps, climbed the wall and entered the storeroom.
She landed softly, waited for about five minutes, and confirmed there were no sounds before revealing herself from behind the wall, slowly approaching the woman's body.
The body remained undisturbed.
After a night of decomposition, the body emitted a slight smell of decay, but it wasn’t overwhelming and was masked by the damp, musty scent of the storeroom.
Ivy then went to the male corpse behind the wooden shelf.
The male corpse also remained undisturbed, unaffected by the dark sacrifice ritual. Because his blood had been drained, there wasn’t even a smell of decay.
Ivy thought wryly, “The sacrifice ritual didn’t come with complete after-sales service. It didn’t clean up the bodies, but at least it helped with preservation!”
This significantly reduced her burden.
As for how to deal with the two bodies, Ivy had gradually worked out a plan since last night, approaching the problem like a detached math problem.
The problem:
There are two corpses in a room. You killed one, and the other you didn’t. How would you handle this?
Difficulty 1: Dispose of only one body or both.
Difficulty 2: The police may have already received missing person reports. Time is of the essence.
Difficulty 3: This is your first crime, you lack experience, and cannot guarantee a clean crime scene.
Difficulty 4: You are physically weak, the task of dismembering the bodies is too great.
Difficulty 5: Your only means of transportation is a bike.
Difficulty 6: You can’t disappear for too long from the sight of classmates, teachers, or parents.
Considering these difficulties, there is only one solution!