The Test

"Thump, thump, thump."

A sudden knock came at the door.

Qin Mu was puzzled. Who would come over this late at night?

Despite his confusion, his hands moved quickly. He picked up the meat chunks and larvae from the living room and put them into the kitchen.

With a thought, the larva stopped eating to avoid being discovered.

After tidying up, Qin Mu walked to the door and peered through the peephole.

Standing outside was a middle-aged man with a square face, a look of exhaustion etched across his features, and only one arm.

"It's Uncle Qing."

Recognizing the visitor, Qin Mu quickly opened the door, welcomed him inside, and led him to sit in the living room.

The visitor was named Wang Qing, a retired soldier and the squad leader of Qin Mu's father during his military service.

Eight years ago, during that Beast Tide, Qin Mu's father lost his life, and Wang Qing lost an arm.

According to him, the only reason he made it back alive was because Qin Mu's father saved him, so he only ended up losing an arm.

After retiring, he had looked after Qin Mu all these years. Especially after Qin Mu's mother also passed away, if not for Wang Qing, Qin Mu probably wouldn't have held on.

"Xiao Mu, did the results come out?"

Uncle Qing's tired face showed concern as he asked.

"They came out. 560 points. Missed by one."

Qin Mu's expression was complicated.

"560?"

Uncle Qing fell silent, sighed, and looked at Qin Mu with some pity in his eyes. After a long pause, he spoke.

"Are you planning to repeat a year, or go to a vocational college?"

Over the years, no one had cared more about Qin Mu than him. He had handled almost everything for him and had long regarded him as his own nephew.

"I haven't decided yet."

Qin Mu shook his head. He really hadn't figured out his plans for the future.

Having just arrived in this world, there were still too many questions in his mind.

"This really needs careful thought.

If anything comes up, call me. Whatever decision you make, I'll support you."

After chatting for a bit, Uncle Qing carefully observed Qin Mu's expression. Only after confirming that nothing seemed off did he relax.

He knew Qin Mu too well.

Over the years, Qin Mu had trained relentlessly to become a martial artist, pushing his body without regard for his health.

If not for Uncle Qing using his military connections to buy plenty of good military supplements, Qin Mu's body would have given out long ago from that desperate drive.

The reason he had rushed over was precisely because he was afraid that if Qin Mu didn't do well on the exam, he might do something rash.

After repeatedly urging him to reach out if anything happened and confirming that Qin Mu seemed fine, Uncle Qing finally left with peace of mind.

Uncle Qing also lived in this neighborhood. His wife had died of illness years ago, and he had only a son and a daughter at home. His eldest daughter was 15 and taking the high school entrance exam this year, while his son was only 11 and still in elementary school.

After retiring, Uncle Qing was assigned to work at a military factory. He was busy from morning till night every day. Though the work wasn't strenuous, the hours were long and it was quite tiring.

Ordinarily, whenever Qin Mu had any issues, Uncle Qing would help handle them, so the two had a close relationship.

Seeing Uncle Qing out the door, Qin Mu returned to the living room and let the larva resume eating.

As the larva kept feeding, Qin Mu could feel a faint force circulating continuously within his body, repairing his injuries while also improving his physique.

He just didn't know how much of an improvement it would be.

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the Limit Martial Arts School and test my strength and speed."

"I hope for a decent improvement."

Qin Mu said to himself silently.

Though the insect race was powerful, this was only a larva after all. How much of a boost it could give him, Qin Mu had no idea.

He could only hope that after accumulating enough energy to evolve into a Worker Bug, the feedback would be enough to make him a Pre-warrior.

Though it was almost eleven o'clock, Qin Mu had no desire to sleep. He went straight to his computer desk to check the latest news and learn more about this world.

"In the wilderness, a martial artist witnessed a Limit Martial Arts School War God-level expert fighting a Lord Monster. After a bitter battle, he cut it down with a single slash."

"The military announces a major breakthrough in the new generation of Laser Cannons, with miniaturization expected."

"The HR Alliance has developed a new type of Gene Potion that can improve a martial artist's physical fitness."

Qin Mu voraciously searched for information online. Combining it with the memories in his mind, he gained a clearer understanding of this world.

It was very late before Qin Mu finally fell into a deep sleep.

Early morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, an alarm clock woke Qin Mu up.

Although he hadn't slept well that night, Qin Mu felt a certain lightness in his body.

After a brief self-check, Qin Mu knew this was because the Zerg larva had fed and then fed back to him, partially repairing the hidden injuries in his body.

Getting up, Qin Mu walked straight to the kitchen first thing.

The hundred-plus jin of meat had already been devoured by the Zerg larva. After a night of feeding, its body had grown from the size of a palm to the size of half an arm.

"A normal Zerg larva is about the size of half an adult forearm. The larva's body has recovered."

Based on the feedback after the larva fed, not only had it regained its normal size, but the energy stored inside it had already reached one-fifth of what was needed to pupate into a Worker Bug.

Combining the information fed back by the larva, Qin Mu defined the energy required for the larva to mutate into a Worker Bug as 5 energy points, roughly meaning one hundred jin of ordinary pork could provide one energy point.

The energy contained in Unicorn Wild Boar meat was about twice that of ordinary pork.

In other words, for the larva to mutate into a Worker Bug, it would need to consume 500 jin of ordinary pork, or 250 jin of Unicorn Wild Boar meat.

Last night, the Zerg larva had eaten 60 jin of ordinary pork and 50 jin of Unicorn Wild Boar meat. Part of that was used to revive its body, and the remainder was stored, already amounting to 1 energy point.

As long as it devoured another 200 jin of Unicorn Wild Boar meat, or 400 jin of ordinary pork, it could complete the accumulation and pupate into a Worker Bug.

Several hundred jin of meat—even with the larva's arm-sized body constantly eating, it would still take a day or two.

A day or two, from larva to Worker Bug. This growth rate might be astonishing for other races, but for the Zerg, it was actually quite slow.

Because normally, a Zerg larva hatched from the nest could immediately activate the genes within its body and pupate into a Worker Bug.

However, this larva had been dormant for who knows how long. The energy within its body had long been depleted, and to prolong its own life, even its body had shriveled up.

"The energy in Unicorn Wild Boar meat is only about twice that of ordinary pork, but the price is six or seven times higher. The cost-performance ratio is very low."

"But even though the cost-performance ratio isn't high, it can save more than half the time. Right now, time is what I lack most, so I'll just buy the Unicorn Wild Boar meat."

With over five hundred thousand in hand, he wasn't short on funds for the time being.

It was already the 16th. With only half a month left until next month's assessment, he had to find a way for the Zerg larva to accumulate energy as quickly as possible, pupate into a Worker Bug to boost his strength, and also feed back to him.

So early in the morning, Qin Mu ran straight to the market, spent over thirty thousand yuan, and bought 300 jin of Unicorn Wild Boar meat, letting the Zerg larva devour to its heart's content.

After finishing all this, Qin Mu headed toward the Limit Martial Arts School. He needed to test his strength.

It was still early. When Qin Mu entered the Limit Martial Arts School, a few scattered people were also walking into the school to start their day's training.

He walked all the way to the training hall on the third floor of the intermediate teaching building.

There weren't many people in the training hall at this hour. Qin Mu went to a corner and turned on a Punch Force Testing Machine.

Standing in front of the Punch Force Testing Machine, Qin Mu recalled the original body's Force Application method.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Mu centered his power around his waist and hips, his spine suddenly arching like a bow. Mobilizing the strength of his entire body, he punched the target pad fiercely.

"740 kilograms!"

"No, why is it only 740 kilograms? That's even less than before. Also, when I exerted force, there was a stabbing pain all over my body. The hidden injuries are affecting my Force Application."

Qin Mu's expression changed.

"Thump!"

Qin Mu punched the target pad again.

"738 kilograms."

After several consecutive punches.

"I get it. It's my Force Application method that's wrong!"

Qin Mu's gaze sharpened as realization dawned.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person who had never undergone any training. He couldn't unleash the true power of his body, which was why this situation had occurred.

Coupled with the impact of his injuries, achieving this result wasn't surprising.

"Whoosh—"

Qin Mu steadied his mind, letting out a long breath. Forcing himself to endure the physical discomfort during exertion, he continuously adjusted his Force Application method.

"Thump—"

"752 kilograms!"

"Thump—"

"767 kilograms!"

"Thump—"

After adjusting again and again, the data Qin Mu produced indeed kept improving.