Relationships are forbidden in survival games

【Data link successful, loading map…】 【Graduation Exam: Volume 1. Theme: “A Letter from an Angel.” Candidates, please read the instructions carefully and explore the truth in this New World.】 As the cold, robotic voice echoed, Selina lazily yawned and peeked her head out from a dust-covered metal trash bin, looking somewhat confused. The sky was as dark as iron. Thick clouds loomed overhead, resembling the gashes in the sky left by falling meteors. Stardust floated through the air, while the smoldering ruins of a city flickered with the last embers of a civilization in decay. A brutal kind of beauty. Selina slowly stood up, her short hair falling over her shoulders like water. Her clear eyes reflected the distant flames. "Huh? Is today exam day...?" She lightly tapped her forehead, as if suddenly remembering something important. Looking around, she found herself in what seemed like an abandoned chemical plant. Nearby, a battered Jeep was parked, with two men and one woman standing by it, their faces serious. Selina’s appearance seemed to interrupt their solemn discussion. "Selina?! What are you doing here?" The blonde woman looked her up and down with uncertainty, then nearly screamed in disgust, "Ugh! Just my luck! Being grouped with a loser like you is definitely going to tank our average score!" The other two didn’t speak, but their expressions were just as conflicted. In the Fast-Travel Department of Tiandao Academy, graduation exams were like writing a thesis at a normal university. The only difference? Their exam involved being thrown into an apocalyptic world to fight for survival. Those who performed well could earn the coveted title of Supreme Lord. Those who didn’t—if they survived—would be relegated to being mere cheat-code NPCs in other dimensions. “Alright, Ellie, the system must have its reasons for grouping us like this.” The speaker was a tall, sturdy man with a crew cut and a friendly, honest expression. He patted the woman on the shoulder, urging her to calm down. Before he could finish, a gentle-looking boy hesitated before chiming in, “I remember Selina was the top of her class, wasn’t she?” The blonde rolled her eyes dramatically and sneered, “So what? Everyone knows she just skates by. She’s completely useless.” Selina was almost legendary in the Survival Horror Program—but not in a good way. Her physical abilities were far below average, and her overall evaluations were always near the bottom. By all accounts, she should have died in countless missions. Yet somehow, she always survived, completely unscathed, and still managed to rank first in her class. “Hm? Are you guys talking about me?” Selina smiled innocently, pointing to herself with an air of naivety, completely unfazed by the disdain around her. 【Adjustment period is over. Candidates, please immediately begin searching for clues to pass. You have twelve days to complete the exam. Anyone who dies will be eliminated on the spot.】 The system voice rang out again, and the group fell silent, the only sound being the howling wind. After a long pause, the tall man walked towards the Jeep. “Let’s go. We’ll figure it out once we’re in the city.” The Jeep rumbled along the dilapidated road, bouncing over uneven terrain. Selina casually reached through the crack in the window and pulled out a dust-covered newspaper. Brushing the dirt away, she revealed a chilling headline: **"Country A’s mining team accidentally severed a load-bearing pillar of an underground relic. Countless unknown creatures emerged from the rift. The military has yet to find an effective response."** The tall man glanced at it and muttered, “Looks like this is the source of the apocalypse.” “That relic was probably a temple dedicated to an ancient god. The seal was broken, and now the power is leaking out,” the boy speculated before turning to Selina with a warm smile. “By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Hadley, that’s Ferris driving, and this is Ellie. Let’s work together.” Selina hadn’t even had a chance to reply before Ellie scoffed, her voice icy. “If she doesn’t drag us down, I’ll count that as a blessing.” The tension in the car became palpable, hanging in the air like a storm cloud. Amidst the silence, Ferris suddenly yanked the steering wheel hard, causing the vehicle to crash straight into the wall of a convenience store. “What the hell is that?” As the night fell, giant creatures slowly emerged from the shadows. They resembled mantises, their black bodies dripping with thick saliva from exposed fangs, their internal organs visible, eyes dead and gray. “Well… isn’t that something.” Selina yawned deeply, her gaze suddenly locking onto a bottle of sake on the convenience store shelf, her eyes gleaming. “Selina! It’s dangerous, stay in the car!” Hadley shouted in alarm. “Just going for a little hunt,” she replied with a smile, slipping through a crack in the car’s side without a sound, disappearing into the darkness. Hadley couldn't stop her. He could only watch helplessly as she lazily stretched, crouched low, and slipped through the crack in the wall. The air in the car instantly grew even heavier. "Should we go after her?" "Tch, let her live or die. Who cares?" —— A "beautiful" new world. Selina stood by the convenience store window, taking in the sight of the ruined city. The thick scent of blood still hung in the air, making it hard to imagine what horrors had once taken place here. She absentmindedly kicked a powerless vending machine next to her, and out rolled a dusty bottle of sake. The label showed it had been bottled seven years ago. Just as she picked up the bottle, there was a noise behind her—something had fallen from the pile of toppled shelves. Selina turned, spotting a young man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He coughed lightly, his fist pressed to his lips, then casually kicked aside the debris on the ground, clearing just enough space to stand. Dust swirled in the air, and when his gaze fell on the small girl in front of him, his expression showed clear surprise. "A human?" His voice was low and cold, tinged with an icy calm. His words came out slower than normal, as if wrapped in the haunting echo of a British opera, strange yet captivating. He wore a long, elegant white coat with a mid-century flair, paired with a beige scarf draped neatly across his chest. His trousers were crisp, his whole presence exuding a calm, almost serene elegance that seemed out of place in the apocalypse. What caught Selina's attention the most was his silvery white hair, tied neatly with a satin ribbon. There was no way this guy was human, right? "Are you a survivor in this city too?" Selina asked, her left hand slipping casually into her jacket pocket, fingers tightening around the knife inside. The young man wore a silver-rimmed monocle, its thin chain dangling elegantly from the frame. Behind it, his wine-red eyes held a scholarly, almost seventeenth-century air of sophistication. He was so strikingly beautiful that it was hard to feel any sense of danger around him. "No, I'm here on business, though it seems I've gotten a bit lost... If the lady wouldn't mind, perhaps you could give me a lift?" The young man smiled gently, his eyes curving in a soft, charming way.