Thora looked up, her expression serious as she addressed Valen. "Mr. Mercer, you should be familiar with ability users, right?" Valen's brow twitched. He stared at Thora, waiting for her to continue. Thora made no effort to hide her words from Lance. He heard every word clearly, yet showed no reaction, as if he'd already anticipated what she would say. Thora spoke plainly, "Since this is a 'death' on the level of mental consciousness, a psychic-type ability user might have a solution." Thora knew full well that while ability users were an absolute minority, the higher up you went in Blue Star's hierarchy, the more aware people were of their existence. As the preeminent authority on Blue Star, the military academy couldn't possibly be ignorant of this.Besides, military academies were environments that naturally stimulated latent potential and awakened abilities. She was willing to bet there were quite a few ability users within the academy, and as the chief examiner, Valen would certainly know about them. After Thora finished speaking, Valen's expression shifted. He then said in a grave tone, "But bringing someone from headquarters might not be fast enough." Those words were an implicit admission that Blue Star Military Academy had ability users. Just then, a familiar voice drifted in from the doorway. "There's a psychic-type ability user among the freshmen. It's just a matter of whether you want to use them." From the voice alone, Thora identified the speaker—Draven. She turned around and saw a man in a silver mask leaning lazily against the wall, one hand tucked in his pocket.His words were directed at Valen, but his gaze was locked firmly on Thora. Valen recognized him—Number 79. He had outstanding marks across the board, ranked second in the third round's point standings. This was someone he'd been keeping a close eye on, and also the most mysterious of all the candidates. Draven continued in a casual tone, "Number 105 among the freshmen, if I'm not mistaken, should be a psychic-type ability user with abilities approaching A-rank." Number 105? Thora searched her memory. That was a guy with a buzz cut, average-looking, with barely any presence. The only memorable thing about him was his unusually clear eyes. She hadn't detected that he was an ability user at all. But how did Draven know?Valen immediately signaled to the person beside him to notify Number 105. The aide accepted the order and left at once. Draven said nothing more, still leaning against the wall as if merely observing. No emotion could be read from beneath his silver mask. Yet just standing there, he exuded an invisible pressure that made even Valen's heart tighten—who exactly was this man? Once they reached headquarters, he would have to use his clearance to pull this person's complete file. Now that the matter of the comatose candidates had a lead, Thora had no reason to stay. She said a brief goodbye and prepared to leave. As she reached the doorway, something occurred to her. She turned back and asked, "By the way, Mr. Mercer, has Blue Star Military Academy ever crossed any organization whose name starts with 'Blue'?" It was a probe. "What do you mean?" Valen's voice sharpened as he countered.A faint smile tugged at the corner of Thora's lips. "Just that I encountered some seemingly hostile individuals during the exam. Thought I'd ask." She didn't elaborate, nor could she. Her only intention was to alert Valen that there might be infiltrators among the candidates while fishing for any clues he might let slip. But judging by Valen's guarded demeanor, he clearly wasn't going to reveal anything. "Blue Star Military Academy has no shortage of enemies. Having hostile forces targeting us is nothing unusual. Every year during freshman assessments, people like that show up to cause trouble or infiltrate." Valen paused, his tone turning icy. "But the academy rules are clear on how to handle them—execution on the spot." Those last four words landed like a gavel, filled with lethal conviction, like a sentence being passed. He was letting Thora know that no one who made an enemy of Blue Star Military Academy ever met a good end.Thora nodded. She'd done her duty by giving the warning. What came next was the academy's problem. What she cared more about was whether that group would follow her here, and what their true identities were—people who coveted the stone in her possession that could enhance ability user stats, and who also wanted to infiltrate the military academy with ulterior motives. Draven looked at Thora, the corner of his mouth lifting. Their eyes met. After a few seconds of silence, Thora walked straight past him, pushed open the door, and left. Lance raised an eyebrow. As he passed Draven, he mimicked the other man's earlier tone and murmured, "Pretending to be someone else... that's pretty pathetic too." With that, he followed after Thora. Draven's gaze turned cold in an instant. He slowly lifted his eyes, staring at Lance's retreating figure as a flash of frigid menace crossed his expression. Only when he sensed Valen watching him did he look away. A wicked smile curved his lips as his eyelids drooped lazily. He glanced off to the side, paying Valen no mind—arrogant and untouchable. He straightened up, pulled his hand from his pocket, and with long strides, walked off in the direction Thora had gone. Valen's expression darkened to its limit. This year's freshmen were more defiant and brazen than the last, with absolutely no restraint. Once they actually set foot in the military academy, they'd learn what discipline really meant.