The voice-activated lights went out.
Song He kicked the wall alone, over and over.
Ding Yangze was jolted awake by the sound of kicking.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar figure in the corner by the opposite wall, head lowered as he read.
Song He!
He had really come back to study!!
Ding Yangze instantly lost all trace of sleepiness. He rubbed his eyes hard, and when he opened them again, Song He was still there! The scene was truly horrifying. Ding Yangze hurriedly pinched his thigh to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Ah!" Ning Mo let out a miserable cry as he woke in pain. "Who pinched my leg..."
Ning Mo froze halfway through his sentence, his mouth hanging open as he stared fixedly at the opposite side.
Ning Mo's pupils trembled violently. His expression was incredulous as he stood up.
He had really come back!
How the hell was this possible!
Ding Yangze and Ning Mo exchanged glances, both seeing fear in each other's eyes.
At that moment, seeing Song He in the bathroom was no less terrifying than seeing a ghost. They had both thought Song He couldn't possibly show up again tonight. Now that he was here, they couldn't help feeling as if playing a spirit-writing game had actually summoned a spirit!
Studying was becoming more and more thrilling. Could it be that the Song He in front of them wasn't alive?
At the same time, system notifications suddenly went berserk in Song He's eyes.
Ding Yangze was frightened by your appearance, causing his worldview to collapse. Resentment Value +500! Ning Mo suspects you're an evil entity. Resentment Value +700! Ding Yangze had originally thought he had studied for a long time, but the sudden reversal left him shouting that he had been careless. Resentment Value +900! Ning Mo's thoughts were in chaos as he recalled various campus horror stories. Resentment Value +1000!
Song He was startled as well. He turned to look at the two by the window. They were clearly in extreme shock, their entire bodies rigid and motionless, without even blinking.
Over the past few days, Song He had been studying at an intense pace. He had bought a pile of Mental Arithmetic Capsules and Deep Sleep Capsules from the System Shop, spending so much that he had nearly emptied his stockpile of Resentment Value. Only 1,000 points remained.
He had still been worrying today about how to get more Resentment Value and ensure that he had enough ammunition for battle.
Now, when he opened the system panel, he saw Resentment Value rising at an unprecedented speed!
4,000!
4,500!
5,000!
Song He was ecstatic as he watched his Resentment Value climb to 5,000, exactly enough to buy all the Deep Sleep Capsules he needed before the selection exam.
Thanks for the carnival gifts, you two big brothers!
"Song He, you... do you study like this every day?" Ning Mo mustered his courage and spoke. "You study during the first half of the night, sleep for an hour, then come back to study during the second half?"
"That's right." Song He admitted it readily.
"Don't you get tired?" Ding Yangze growled in agitation. "You say every day that you're going back to sleep, but after I return to the dorm, you come right back to study! You liar!"
"Old Ding, you can't slander me like that. I really went back and slept for an hour! I said I was going back to sleep, not that I was going to sleep forever. Once I woke up, of course I had to come back and study, right?" Song He looked utterly baffled.
"You woke up after only an hour?" Ning Mo was so shocked that his gaze became somewhat dull. "You only sleep one hour a day? Are you an Alien? Don't you need to sleep to stay alive?"
"My nickname is All-Night God of War. Do you think I got it for nothing?" Song He looked disdainful. "How can people your age even fall asleep? You want to join the competition team without any real ability?"
"Do you think I don't get tired? That's right, I really don't! The moment I see a problem, I become full of energy!" Song He flashed a charming smile.
"No, even if your willpower is incredible, you still have to obey the laws of nature, right?" Ning Mo was frantic.
"I do!" Song He looked innocent.
"Obey your ass! What human being can sleep one hour a day without getting tired?" Ning Mo broke down, clutching his head with both hands.
"The ADRB1 gene is carried by one person in every 25,000. It's a rare genetic mutation that cuts sleep time in half, and carriers are more excited than ordinary people when awake. The DEC2 gene is a naturally mutated short-sleeper gene that can cut out an hour and a half of sleep." Song He smiled disdainfully. "The ABCC9 gene is more widespread, and many people have it. However, whether this gene is expressed also changes one's sleep time."
"Y-you have a genetic mutation?" Ning Mo froze.
"I evolved." Song He smiled. "Like I said, I'm the All-Night God of War. I didn't get that name for nothing."
Ning Mo and Ding Yangze were completely stunned. For a long while, neither of them could say a word.
So there were no miracles in this world. They were simply ignorant. Looking at Song He's energetic complexion, it seemed that he really was the chosen one?!
The impact! The existence of the person before them was undoubtedly a tremendous shock to their worldview! Ning Mo and Ding Yangze both felt that their life experiences from the past decade and more had been overturned. For the first time, the phrase "I've lived long enough to see everything" appeared in their minds.
Song He lowered his head and continued studying, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
The operating principle of the Deep Sleep Capsules had aroused his curiosity, so two days ago he had specifically gone to the school library to look up information on short sleepers. The only clue he found was the short-sleeper genes he had just mentioned.
Although the Deep Sleep Capsules might not work on the same principle, it was enough to fool his classmates.
Song He didn't want to be seen as some kind of monster, either. He still had a long road of studying through the night ahead of him, so he needed a scientifically plausible explanation to avoid being pushed into the center of public attention.
Ding Yangze was terrified by your potential. Resentment Value +500!
Ning Mo regarded you as a terrifying archenemy. Resentment Value +500!
Song He looked up. The two top contributors had already carried their chairs out of the bathroom. It seemed they knew they couldn't outlast him and had decisively retreated to sleep.
His Resentment Value had accumulated to 6,000 points, which felt quite like getting rich overnight!
If he earned a little more over the next few days, it would be enough to buy Mental Arithmetic Capsules and Deep Sleep Capsules before the selection exam, with some left over.
Song He had a thought. Since he had money to spare, why not try a tense and thrilling ten-consecutive draw?
He gritted his teeth and spent 1,000 Resentment Value. The Black Technology Lottery wheel activated!
Congratulations, you obtained 1 Mental Arithmetic Capsule!
Congratulations, you obtained 1 Mental Arithmetic Capsule!
Sure enough, it had started producing the lowest-tier Mental Arithmetic Capsules again.
Still, it wasn't a loss. Every ten-consecutive draw came with two bonus draws. Even if every result was a Mental Arithmetic Capsule, it was equivalent to buying twelve capsules for 1,000 Resentment Value—slightly cheaper than purchasing them individually in the System Shop. It counted as a small discount.
Especially since Song He's demand for Mental Arithmetic Capsules was growing. He ate them nonstop like candy while solving problems. They were low-end and cheap, but they were still essential supplies.
Soon, the first ten lottery results appeared. He tucked the ten Mental Arithmetic Capsules into his pocket for later use.
The bonus-draw segment was the real lottery!
This ten-consecutive draw had granted two bonus draw opportunities! The lottery wheel continued spinning.
Congratulations, you obtained 1 Brain Neuron Growth Capsule!
Congratulations, you obtained the purchase qualification for a Combat Power Detector. It has been added to the System Shop!
"Wow, the drop rate really is high!" Song He was delighted. Two new items had actually appeared!
A golden-yellow capsule appeared in his palm. As he focused his gaze on it, system text popped up.
Rare Item: Brain Neuron Growth Capsule Price: Purchase access not yet available Effect: After consumption, promotes the production of more dendrites and axons in the brain's neurons, slightly reduces the energy consumed by thought, slightly increases thinking speed, slightly delays brain aging, and slightly increases intelligence.
Song He seriously suspected that the system was a pharmaceutical company. Every item it had given him so far was a small capsule in a different color.
Still, the quality of the medicine was absurdly incredible. They were pure black-technology drugs.
As Song He swallowed the golden-yellow capsule in his hand, he couldn't help imagining:
If he founded a pharmaceutical company in the future and reverse-engineered the drugs provided by the system, then even if he managed to replicate the lowest-grade Mental Arithmetic Capsule, it would probably be capable of kicking Pfizer and punching Johnson & Johnson. With just this one capsule, becoming the world's pharmaceutical overlord would be no problem!
He opened the System Shop to inspect the prize from the other draw.
Combat Power Detector!
The system introduction popped up, and Song He's eyes lit up.
This had come at exactly the right time. The only problem was that its price was a real pain in the kidneys.
Before you continue