The bustling streets of Kyoto Prefecture left Xu Tui and the other students dazzled.
Even after they arrived at the New Student Reception Center, they were still buzzing with excitement.
Most of them hadn't noticed that the massive escort convoy had disappeared at some point after they reached the Huaxia Gene Evolution University reception center.
Xu Tui looked around. He didn't spot any hidden sentries or large security forces at the New Student Reception Center.
But the young woman at the front desk and the aunties and uncles showing people around were all busy yet friendly and relaxed.
Not a trace of tension showed on their faces.
"Looks like this place should be safe."
He'd been through two dangerous incidents in just a few days, one of them a brush with death. Xu Tui had started to feel like a frightened quail.
The New Student Reception Center was quite nice.
The rooms were clean, with two beds each. They were just a little cramped—about ten square meters.
Xu Tui naturally shared a room with Cheng Mo.
After setting down their luggage, their first order of business was to get some food.
Xu Tui had originally planned to take it easy and lie on the bed for a while.
After two days on the road, he was dying to stretch out on a proper bed.
But Cheng Mo kept complaining that he was hungry.
And so Xu Tui once again became the dining hall's center of attention.
This time, he was the center of attention in front of all the new students.
They could have eaten in the dining hall.
But Cheng Mo was injured, so Xu Tui had to bring his food back to him.
Including his own meal, Xu Tui picked up eight large portions at once.
He asked the auntie to pack each one as full as possible.
Six portions for Cheng Mo, two for Xu Tui.
Xu Tui carried the eight portions and a huge bowl of soup the auntie had kindly given him, wobbling out of the dining hall.
At that moment, he felt like a thousand eyes were fixed on him.
He'd become the focus of the entire New Student Reception Center dining hall.
Was it because he'd carried eight huge portions and a bowl of soup all by himself?
Xu Tui didn't think so.
He figured he'd become the center of attention because he was handsome!
Of course, Xu Tui didn't know that the new students' curiosity had already given rise to some unsavory rumors.
Back in the room, the two of them wolfed down their food.
While Cheng Mo stared longingly at Xu Tui's two portions, Xu Tui had already devoured every last bite, leaving Cheng Mo no chance at all.
"Heizi, how much money did you bring with you?" Xu Tui suddenly remembered something important.
"Money?"
"Not much. My dad packed two hundred F-grade Energy Supplement Pills to keep me from getting hungry. Then he gave me a hundred thousand yuan for tuition, registration, room and board, and other expenses.
"Well, my mom secretly gave me thirty thousand. My grandpa secretly gave me ten thousand, and my grandma secretly gave me forty thousand. That's all.
"I should get another four or five thousand a month for living expenses." Cheng Mo replied.
"Eighteen thousand? You're a little rich now." Cheng Mo's family was much better off than Xu Tui's, though not by all that much.
"What, are you short on money? We've only just started school, so you shouldn't be broke already. Are you trying to raise money for something?
"How much do you need? I can lend you some," Cheng Mo said.
Xu Tui didn't answer. He silently worked something out.
"What's wrong, is the shortfall that big?"
Cheng Mo glanced nervously out the window, then lowered his voice as if afraid someone might hear. "Listen, I've got another twenty thousand in secret savings. You can borrow that too, but you have to leave me enough for tuition and living expenses."
"Ugh!"
Xu Tui let out a long sigh. "Heizi, do you know how much that meal we just ate cost?"
"How much?" Cheng Mo asked, unconcerned.
"A small portion is ten yuan, a medium one is twelve, and a large one is fifteen. Those are student prices. And we got eight large portions.
"Well, six of them were yours, which comes to ninety yuan. And you still weren't completely full."
Cheng Mo's eyes widened. He stared at Xu Tui as if he'd never seen him before, then shouted, "Oh, I get it, Little Leg! You're reminding me to pay you back for today's meal!"
"Get lost!"
Xu Tui reached over and rubbed the back of Cheng Mo's head. "I'm worried about what you're going to eat from now on."
"I'll have living expenses from now on. My dad said four thousand a month, and Mom said she could secretly give me another thousand. Five thousand isn't bad."
"Five thousand is plenty. But damn it, you just ate ninety yuan in one meal. Let's say breakfast costs half as much.
"You need three basic meals a day, not counting late-night snacks. That's 225 yuan a day, and there are thirty days in a month.
"You'll spend 6,750 yuan a month on food alone."
"That much?"
Cheng Mo froze. "Three meals a day aren't enough for me. I absolutely can't skip late-night snacks. Add those in, plus the occasional extra meal, and if I really let myself eat my fill—"
"Then even ten thousand yuan a month won't cover your food."
"And that's before all my other expenses..."
As Xu Tui laid out the numbers, Cheng Mo suddenly let out a wail. "I was planning to find a girlfriend before I got as big as a mountain. I need to buy a few stylish clothes in a larger size, and get her gifts..."
"I..."
Cheng Mo looked utterly hopeless as he flopped back onto the bed.
But the moment he landed, he sucked in a sharp breath. The movement had tugged at his wound.
"Little Leg, I need to find a way to make money. Five thousand a month from my parents is probably the most they can manage.
"When you've got a full stomach, you start thinking about romance. I need to eat my fill first so I'll have the energy to date someone properly.
"Little Leg, you have to help me. At this rate, I'll keep getting fatter until I've got no chance of ever finding a girlfriend."
"Of course I'll help. I've already thought of a few ways on the road," Xu Tui said.
"Tell me."
"First, eat less. Keep your portions within the normal range and exercise more—"
"No way. I'd go crazy. Besides, from what I've read, once you activate the gene point in your stomach, one of the first changes is that your digestive juices become really potent.
"If I go too long without eating, my stomach might digest itself first." Cheng Mo looked terrified.
"Damn."
"Then the second method is to eat cheap foods that are hard to digest, like bones—"
"Do you think I'm a dog?" Cheng Mo gave him a wounded look. "Can you stop focusing on ways to keep me from eating?"
"Then I've got a third idea," Xu Tui said.
"Train. Train like your life depends on it."
"But look at me right now." Cheng Mo pointed at his hand and the area over his ribs, his face full of helplessness.
"I'm not just talking about physical training. I mean this, too." Xu Tui pointed at his head.
"My brain?" Cheng Mo looked baffled. "How do you train your brain? Can you grow muscles in there?"
"Your brain's the one that's full of muscle!"
Xu Tui pointed at Cheng Mo and yelled.
"What I mean is, use your conscious mind to think as hard as you can. Use your conscious mind to control the flow of energy in your body, strengthening yourself while using up your energy.
"For example, if you want to activate the gene points in your hand, imagine you're a newly appointed commander ordering all the energy from the food your stomach digests to flow to your right hand.
"Who knows? Maybe the energy from the food your stomach digests really will flow to your right hand." Xu Tui said solemnly.
He'd spent a long time thinking about this on the road over the past two days, and based on the changes he'd experienced himself, had come up with a possible way to solve Cheng Mo's problem.
Of course, it was only a possibility.
It was also a bold experiment he wanted to try.
"The Engine Theory you mentioned before?" Cheng Mo stared at Xu Tui. "You're trying to find a use for this high-powered engine of mine?"
"You could say that. This is the upgraded version of Engine Theory," Xu Tui said.
"Do you think it'll work?" Cheng Mo asked doubtfully.
Xu Tui had been about to say it was just an experiment, but when he saw Cheng Mo's gloomy expression, he suddenly changed his mind. "It should have some effect. This is something I came up with after discussing it with Teacher An on the way here."
Well, Xu Tui's lying skills were maxed out. The lie came out smoothly.
"You know Teacher An, right? She's the youngest professor in the Mysterious System at Huaxia Gene Evolution University, and she was promoted ahead of schedule.
"She's the goddess of carnage.
"You saw her lose her temper that day." Xu Tui added.
Cheng Mo thought it over. A flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes; he seemed to believe him. "Little Leg, thanks!"
"Get lost. Don't call me that."
"Teacher An said there's only one thing that really matters with this method: your conscious mind has to be strong, and your focus has to be absolute.
"Absolute focus, understand?
"Also, this method might not work the first time. You'll have to keep trying," Xu Tui said.
Cheng Mo nodded firmly. "I will! By the way, if I run into any problems, I'll ask Teacher An."
"Don't. Ask me. I'm her student, so I can consult her when she has time. If you bother her, I'm afraid she'll beat you to death."
The reason Xu Tui said that was that he was afraid Cheng Mo would go to An Xiaoxue, and then An Xiaoxue would come over and beat him to death.
"Okay, I'll try it right now!" Cheng Mo was eager.
But just as he was about to try, the room phone rang.
"Is this Cheng Mo? This is the Huaxia Gene Evolution University Medical Center. We've been notified that you were injured on your way here.
"According to the rules, you can receive treatment at the Medical Center. Your fracture should heal within half a month.
"Of course, we can also send someone to inject you with a Bone Growth Accelerating Agent. Which would you prefer?"
The voice on the phone was soft and pleasant.
Cheng Mo made his choice without much hesitation. "I'll go to the Medical Center."
"Very well. Someone will be there shortly with a medical trolley to take you. Please bring your personal belongings."
After the call ended, Cheng Mo looked delighted.
"You'll have to stay here on your own, then. I'm going to the Medical Center to meet the pretty nurses and chat with them about life.
"A genius like me is bound to be popular!" Cheng Mo said eagerly.
"Good luck!
"Hope you don't scare the nurses with how much you eat."
Xu Tui thought it was the best blessing he could give him. Cheng Mo went still.
Before long, a medical attendant arrived with a trolley and took Cheng Mo away, leaving Xu Tui alone in the room.
Since their registration had already been completed, no one else would be assigned to the room.
After a thoroughly refreshing hot shower, Xu Tui slipped into the bed he'd missed so much and stretched out all four limbs. There was only one word for it—bliss!
Xu Tui had drawn on his own experience to offer Cheng Mo a possible way to address his problem.
Whether it would work depended on Cheng Mo's own efforts.
Now, Xu Tui had to deal with his own problems!
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