Evolving infinitely from ground zero

The second day of the college entrance examination, June 8th.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan got up early, finished breakfast, and headed to the school to gather. Together, they would take a bus to the test site for the practical assessment, a forest brimming with primal nature.

This forest was located on the outskirts of Nanjiang Province.

It was desolate and uninhabited, with numerous wild animals and few human visitors. It was very suitable for use as a practical assessment test site.

Outside the two families’ homes.

Lin’s father and mother, Shen’s father and mother, all four parents got up early to see their children off.

“Take this bag of bread…”

“And don’t forget the biscuits…”

“Remember this bottle of sports drink…”

“And this pack of jerky…”

“Bring more food, eat well before entering the forest. That way, once you’re inside, you won’t have to rush to find food and can first observe the terrain.”

Zhang Wanxin opened the zipper of Lin Zichen’s backpack and, while speaking, kept stuffing food into it.

Feeling his backpack getting heavier and heavier, Lin Zichen hurriedly said,

“Mom, that’s enough, I can’t finish all that.”

“Isn’t Han Han there to eat it too?”

“Han Han’s backpack is full as well.”

“That’s not a problem, if you can’t finish it, you can eat it after the exams when you’ll probably be hungry.”

Zhang Wanxin was very thorough, fearing the children would get terribly hungry.

On the other side, Xu Meng was also incessantly nagging Shen Qinghan, reminding her,

“Qinghan, the forest is full of dangers. Don’t risk it just to get a high score. Your safety comes first, understand?”

“I understand, Mom.”

Shen Qinghan obediently nodded her head.

Hearing this, Zhang Wanxin, who was beside her, said to Xu Meng with a smile,

“Don’t worry, they’ve been assigned the same test entrance. With Xiao Chen around, he’ll surely protect Qinghan well.”

“Of course, of course.”

Xu Meng replied with a smile.

After saying that, she looked at Lin Zichen with a gentle smile and said,

“Xiao Chen, I’m entrusting Qinghan to you. After the college entrance exams, Aunt Meng will buy you and Qinghan the latest model of the fruit phone, as a gift for your high school graduation.”

“Then I’ll thank Aunt Meng in advance.”

Lin Zichen smiled and didn’t bother being formal with Xu Meng.

The two families had been close for many years and had long considered each other family. Being too polite would actually seem distant.

“Dad, Mom, Aunt Meng, Uncle Ye, we’re leaving.”

“Dad, Mom, Aunt Xin, Uncle Sheng, goodbye!”

The two waved to the four parents to say farewell and quickly left with their backpacks, walking briskly towards the school.

By the time they arrived at the school, all 10 martial arts classes in their senior year had already lined up on the playground.

Seeing this, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan jogged to the end of the line for Class 1 of the senior year.

About half an hour later.

The buses responsible for transporting the examinees to the practical assessment site arrived.

There were 10 in total, with one bus for each class.

Soon, all examinees were on the buses.

Nearly 500 martial arts seniors from Shanhai High School set off for the practical assessment site.

At the same time, high schools in various cities across Nanjiang Province were also organizing their students to head to the test sites.

The numbers were not large.

A larger, more prominent high school had only a few hundred martial arts students per grade.

A smaller, average high school might just have one martial arts class per grade, meaning only a few dozen martial arts students.

As such, even in Nanjiang Province, which is known for a large number of college entrance examinees, the number of martial arts students participating in the exams this year did not exceed 100,000.

The rest of the several hundred thousand examinees were all humanities, arts, technical students, etc.

After all, those who practiced martial arts were still a minority.

After all, on the path of martial arts cultivation, if one couldn’t become a Genetic Integrator or a Mechanically Modified Human in the end, their potential would indeed be lower than that of humanities students.

The ones who achieve the best success often open martial arts schools and widely recruit disciples.

For those slightly less successful, they become martial arts teachers in high schools after passing exams, or take up positions in related security departments.

Those with even less success work at martial arts schools.

For academic students, the range of job prospects after graduation is much wider.

Education, medical services, finance, design, networking, etc., all offer job positions.

“It’s such a pity, Han Han, if only I had the same examination hall entrance as you, then I could have company and also cling to Zi Chen’s coattails at the same time, just thinking about it feels awesome.”

In the car, Li Chuxin leaned over the back of the seat, looking at Shen Qinghan in the rear seat as she spoke.

He Yu, sitting next to Li Chuxin, was immediately displeased upon hearing this, grumbling:

“What do you mean by that? Are my coattails not thick enough? Isn’t it good enough to be in the same examination hall entrance with me? Being on a team with me would also be cool, get it?”

“Teaming up with a straight guy like you is boring.”

Li Chuxin expressed her disdain with her face.

He Yu was unconvinced and retorted, “What straight guy? I call this genuine and unaffected.”

Seeing the two bicker at the drop of a hat, Shen Qinghan found it quite amusing and silently watched the show with a smile.

Next to her, Lin Zichen was wearing headphones and watching news videos on his phone.

He stayed informed on social issues and current affairs from all aspects.

“Capital University prodigy, successfully integrates the Shadow Night Cat gene, breaking the school’s record for youngest Triple Gene Fusioneer!”

“Mechanical genius girl, right eye successfully implanted with the latest generation super-computing chip, needs only a glance to calculate a target’s various data, comparable to fiery golden eyes!”

“At 4 am today, a minor earthquake occurred in Shanhai City. A pair of lovers with keen senses felt the significant tremors, got so scared that they didn’t even bother to get dressed, and ran out of their home naked, shouting for residents to flee…”

In the video, a censor-barred couple caught in adultery was covering their privates and shouting by the roadside about an earthquake telling everyone to run.

Then, an old lady quickly rushed out of the house, the woman’s mother-in-law, wielding a broom and beating the two while cursing: “My son works hard on the construction site every day and sends money home. How dare you sneak in a man for an affair in the middle of the night, acting as if I, your mother-in-law, don’t exist. I’ll beat you to death, you adulterer and hussy!”

While the news anchor reported the news with a serious demeanor, the top of the video was continuously flashing with barrage comments.

“The civil engineer brother must be crying.”

“No problem, as long as the kid is his own.”

“Haha, though they were having an affair, they still showed responsibility.”

“Human nature is complex. In some ways, they are the bad guys, but in others, they can be the good ones.”

“Who said heroes can only stand in the light? A hero can also stand there naked!”

Lin Zichen glanced over these comments and found them funny, but he didn’t laugh.

Instead, he slightly furrowed his brows.

This seems to be the second noticeable earthquake in Shanhai City this year.

Isn’t this a bit too frequent?

Theoretically, given Shanhai City’s geographical location, having one noticeable earthquake over several years would be considered a lot.

I hope I’m just overthinking it; please, let there not be a massive earthquake…

Lin Zichen thought to himself.

On the other side.

Shen Qinghan’s gaze shifted from He Yu and Li Chuxin in front to Lin Zichen beside her.

Seeing him quietly watching the news, she couldn’t help but feel moved.

Xiao Chen is so quiet, not like other boys his age who are noisy and boisterous.

Having such an almost perfect childhood friend must mean I saved the Earth in my past life.

I’m so lucky…

With these thoughts, a satisfied smile spread across Shen Qinghan’s lips.

Lin Zichen noticed her gaze and thought she wanted to see the news on his phone, so he took off one earphone and offered it to her:

“Want to watch together?”

“Sure!”

Shen Qinghan laughed as she accepted the earphone, brushing the hair by her ear aside and tucking the earphone in.

Then, she skillfully leaned a little, intimately resting her shoulder against Lin Zichen’s, tilting her head to watch the news video on the phone with him.

PS: Bowing for votes, seek monthly tickets and recommendations!