Hexia drifted off to sleep in a new place, and it wasn't until after 10 a.m. the next day that she slowly awoke.
Seeing the time, Hexia let out a sound of surprise, then sat up and began to change her clothes, wondering if waking up so late would leave a bad impression.
After getting dressed and slipping on her sandals, Hexia hurried downstairs to find Grandma He sitting in the living room playing with her granddaughter.
"Hexia is up. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Sister is awake. I wanted to call you earlier, but Grandma wouldn't let me." Lisha had an expression that said it wasn't her fault.
"Now, now, it's Hexia's first time at our house, she certainly needs some time to adapt. Just like when you go to your uncle's house and can't sleep well." Grandma He consoled her granddaughter.
"Okay, I understand." Lisha nodded.
Afterward, Grandma He showed Hexia where to wash up and then brought over a still-warm breakfast—a simple meal of bread, milk, and a fried egg.
While eating breakfast, Grandma He turned on the television, and Lisha ran over to watch as well.
"In order to further address employment issues, the Federal Congress has decided to raise the AI tax rate again, that is, to levy heavy taxes on the production and usage of T6 to T2 level AIs, in order to reduce the instances of AIs replacing human workers, allowing more residents to gain employment..." the news broadcasted.
"Here are comments from various representatives on the matter."
"Representative Tulun stated that this is absolutely a step backward! To give up efficient production methods for the sake of so-called employment rates will inevitably lead to the decline of the Federation's overall strength, diminish the willingness of major corporations to develop AIs and ultimately cause the nation to lose its competitive edge."
"On the other hand, Representative Marz believes that the move is necessary because the use of AIs has deprived many Federation residents of the right to participate in society, which will inevitably lead to public order problems. Additionally, if there are no consumers, the produced goods will accumulate due to lack of buyers and ultimately cause the collapse of the entire economic cycle."
"Sometimes, what constrains the improvement of productivity is not efficiency or materials, but the absence of a vast consumer market to digest them."
"This concludes our report. This news was broadcasted on April 17th, Feiyi Star Domain-A2-6223 (Silver Fire Tower), at 11:15:37 a.m."
It was yesterday's news, Hexia thought to herself.
Although there are instantaneous ultra-space communication methods among the various Star Domains within the Federation, such channels are only used for transmitting a small portion of significant information. Usually, the Star Domain networks sync up every three days.
This meant that if Hexia wanted to send an email to friends in other Star Domains, the recipients might have to wait until the network synced up three days later to receive it. The networks of each Star Domain are not always in real-time sync with the Federation's main net; there's a certain amount of lag.
After breakfast, Hexia helped clean up the table and then sat down to chat with Grandma He and Lisha.
"How is your recovery going, Hexia?" Grandma He asked with concern.
"It feels okay, not much soreness anymore." The girl moved her wrist around.
"By the way, you had just returned from the enrollment assessment, hadn't you?"
"Yes, but I haven't received the reply yet." Hexia was a bit worried.
"It will be alright."
"You can stay at home and recover from your injuries for these days. Sometimes Lisha and a few other kids from nearby will come over, and you can just help them with their homework. It shouldn't take too much time each day, and once you're healed, you can go back."
Hexia had previously agreed to tutor as a favor, and naturally, she wouldn't refuse. She nodded and then they changed the subject.
"Have you thought about what you'll do in the future, Hexia? Although I'm old, I have many children, maybe I could help you find out about opportunities."
"For the future, I'm thinking of getting a simple job during the holidays to save some money and then attend high school. I'm just afraid I won't get in..." Hexia's voice trailed off, sounding a bit dejected.
"How are your regular grades?"
"As for the theory grades, I..." Hexia recited the scores she had written on her admissions assessment a few days prior.
"Those are excellent scores." The elderly woman shook her head slightly, indicating that the girl might be worrying too much.
Literature, mathematics, and Aijieka Theory have a maximum score of 150; Hexia had scored over 120 in each, and in other subjects with a maximum score of 80, her grades also hovered around 70. Although there was a gap from the top students, considering the fact that she studied in Payin City, an underdeveloped city in terms of education, achieving such scores was quite commendable.
The two talked for a long time, and Grandma He learned about Hexia's family situation, which she found deeply distressing.
Later, Hexia went back to her room to take a nap, then read for a while, reviewing what she had learned before, to prepare for the upcoming days of tutoring.
That afternoon, six children came to Grandma He's house.
"The big sister with gray hair turned into a big sister with black hair."
"Sister Hexia is a hero, even more awesome than Super Biqi!"
"Super Biqi is a superhero with an Alance alloy structure, the Lulya System, three transforming states, and a Spirit Particle Sequence of 7. She punishes bad guys and is super strong!" It seemed to be a character from some film or show.
"Can this one do it? I'm an honor student in my class." A bespectacled kid with materials in hand scrutinized the black-haired girl before him, doubtful that she might just be a pretty face.
"Sandi, you must not speak ill of Sister Hexia." The other kids started arguing among themselves. Three of the six children were those Hexia had saved before, and they had since become her loyal little followers.