"Student ID J61221912140711, trainee Cheng Mo, please report to Room Four."
"Student ID J61222007210017, trainee Xu Tui, please report to Room Five."
Xu Tui, Cheng Mo, and their homeroom teacher, Yu Zeping, immediately stood up.
To Xu Tui's surprise, their homeroom teacher looked even more nervous than the two of them.
"Once you're inside, do everything the teacher there tells you."
"You'll be out in a few minutes."
"Don't overthink it."
"Don't be nervous."
"Relax!"
"The mortality rate won't apply to you."
The first few words were touching.
But at the last one, Xu Tui and Cheng Mo both exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
Homeroom teacher, did you even know how to give a pre-battle pep talk?
They hadn't been nervous to begin with.
But the moment he mentioned the mortality rate, Cheng Mo and Xu Tui both got just a little nervous.
Prompted by the electronic announcements, Xu Tui and Cheng Mo entered Rooms Five and Four, respectively.
Before entering, Cheng Mo even took the time to turn back and pump his fist at Xu Tui.
"Good luck!"
"Good luck!"
Xu Tui stepped into Room Five. The door behind him closed automatically and locked.
Inside were two staff members.
One was a security guard in camouflage military fatigues, standing in the far corner of the room.
The other was a tall female researcher in a white coat and mask, her long hair tied up in a high ponytail.
Surveillance cameras on the ceiling and floor ensured the entire test was recorded with no blind spots.
"Beginning identity verification."
About three seconds later, an electronic voice sounded.
"Fingerprint match: 99.7 percent. Iris match: 99.5 percent. Identity verified."
"I'll ask. You answer," the female researcher said.
Xu Tui nodded.
"Name?"
"Xu Tui."
"Sex?"
Xu Tui had been tempted to crack a joke, but after thinking of his homeroom teacher's advice, he answered honestly.
"Male."
"Have you ever been injected with a Gene Composite Chain Allele Potion?"
"No."
"Have you ever been injected with a Gene Activation Stabilization Potion?"
"No."
He had already filled out this information earlier, but they went through it again now.
It was just procedure.
"Get on the bed and take off your pants."
Xu Tui stared at her in surprise.
He'd heard from his upperclassmen that he'd have to lie on a bed.
There'd been plenty of tips.
But why take off his pants?
He'd never heard any of the upperclassmen mention that.
"The Gene Activation Stabilization Potion takes effect fastest and works best when injected into the femoral artery," the female researcher added.
Xu Tui understood.
He took off his athletic shorts and climbed onto the medical bed.
A slightly cool finger pressed against his groin. Before he could react—
Pfft!
Xu Tui winced in pain.
His muscles tensed all at once.
She'd stuck a needle into an artery!
Just like that!
"Relax."
"If the needle breaks inside you, you'll have to operate on yourself."
"Uh..."
Xu Tui slowly exhaled and relaxed his whole body.
The Gene Activation Stabilization Potion was slowly injected into his body.
Another needle went straight into the vein at the crook of Xu Tui's arm.
"Thirty milliliters of venous blood will be drawn for a pre-injection gene comparison."
The female researcher's voice was mechanical, but the clear instructions were considerate. They helped put Xu Tui at ease.
"Gene Activation Stabilization Potion injection complete. In two minutes, an intramuscular injection of C-grade Gene Composite Chain Allele Potion will be administered."
"Take a deep breath."
"Relax."
"C-grade Gene Composite Chain Allele Potion injection complete."
"Beginning the clinical observation period."
"Timer started."
"Xu Tui, tell me immediately if you notice anything unusual."
"Okay, ma'am. Nothing unusual so far."
"Nothing unusual?"
The female researcher raised an eyebrow. After a Gene Liberation Potion injection, no reaction at all wasn't a good sign.
An abnormal reaction meant that some number of Gene Points had been liberated.
The stronger the reaction, the more Gene Points had been liberated and the greater the subject's potential for future improvement.
Of course, an extreme reaction could cause the gene chain to collapse on the spot.
The result would be death.
However, in most cases, after a Gene Activation Stabilization Potion had been administered, the chance of a trainee's gene chain collapsing became extremely low.
That was why students who scored above the Dual Excellence Line on the Gene Aptitude Test received a bottle of Gene Activation Stabilization Potion.
To some extent, it was also a reward for students who had worked hard and achieved excellent results.
"Trainee Xu Tui, are you experiencing any unusual physical reactions?" the female researcher asked again.
"No."
Xu Tui knew the basic reactions to the Gene Liberation Potion.
An abnormal reaction meant that he'd liberated or activated Gene Points.
Nothing?
Xu Tui suddenly grew nervous.
Wouldn't that make him a useless good-for-nothing?
He still wanted to see what lay beyond Earth.
At that moment, Xu Tui desperately hoped an abnormal reaction would appear.
"Trainee Xu Tui, are you experiencing any unusual physical reactions?" the female researcher asked again at the five-minute mark.
"No."
Ten minutes later—
"Trainee Xu Tui, are you experiencing any unusual physical reactions?"
"N-no."
Xu Tui was genuinely nervous now. His voice even trembled a little.
"Don't be nervous. Relax. There's still time," the female researcher said softly, trying to reassure him.
Twenty minutes later—
"Trainee Xu Tui, are you experiencing any unusual physical reactions?" the female researcher asked again.
"No!"
Xu Tui began to panic.
He was really panicking!
He'd read countless accounts from upperclassmen about the physical reactions they'd experienced after taking the Gene Liberation Potion.
Some had gotten leg cramps.
Some had itchy hands.
Some had earaches.
Some had swollen eyes.
Some had sore mouths.
Some had even hallucinated.
And some had been overcome by an overwhelming urge to see their girlfriends.
Before going in, he'd wondered what sort of reaction he might have.
But this was fucking ridiculous.
He was the one who'd ended up with no reaction at all.
No reaction meant the Gene Liberation Potion had no effect.
In other words, Xu Tui might be one of the rare humans with a highly stable gene chain—a useless constitution.
Xu Tui was so anxious he could hardly think straight.
Thirty minutes later, the female researcher asked Xu Tui again. His answer was still no.
This time, even the military security guard standing nearby wore a look of regret.
Students who scored above the Dual Excellence Line on the entrance exam were never lacking in self-discipline or learning ability. And yet, he had a useless constitution.
What a pity.
The female researcher let out a quiet sigh, too.
There was more than a ninety-percent chance that the student before her had a highly stable gene chain.
"Maximum clinical observation time reached."
"No abnormal reactions detected in trainee Xu Tui."
"Direction of Gene Point liberation unknown."
"Drawing another venous blood sample for comparison with the sample taken before the Gene Liberation Potion injection."
The female researcher announced every procedure, presumably recording them electronically through the cameras so they could be reviewed if necessary.
"All right, you can get off the bed now," the female researcher said.
Xu Tui tried to get up from the medical bed, but his whole body felt weak, and he couldn't muster any strength.
The female researcher reached out with her cool fingers and gently helped Xu Tui sit up.
She lifted Xu Tui, who was 1.8 meters tall and weighed over seventy kilograms, with remarkable ease, as if she hadn't used any strength at all.
Still dazed, Xu Tui was pulled upright. Before his disappointment could fully sink in, his vision suddenly went black, and a strange, searing pain struck him.
A splitting pain exploded in his head!
"Ah!"
Xu Tui clutched his head with both hands and let out a scream of agony.
Through the pain, Xu Tui felt that his hands were wet.
The female researcher looked startled.
She immediately laid Xu Tui flat on the bed, then wheeled over a large life-sign monitor.
Red and green lights began flashing over Xu Tui's body, and an electronic voice sounded.
"Vital signs stable."
"Brain activity normal."
The electronic voice made the female researcher furrow her brow.
She'd seen this happen many times, but she still didn't want this sunny, handsome young man to have a useless constitution.
Xu Tui's reaction just now might mean he had liberated Gene Points.
But the precise life-sign monitor showed no abnormalities.
Of course, the monitor only measured vital signs.
"Trainee Xu Tui, if you can, describe what you're feeling."
"Reporting, ma'am. My head hurts.
It felt like my head was about to explode just now."
"Does it still hurt?"
"Now... I don't think so. It only lasted for a moment."
"Report any other abnormal reactions as well."
"My eyes feel a little swollen, and my ears hurt a tiny bit too."
The abnormal reactions helped Xu Tui relax a little.
At least he was having some kind of reaction, right?
Swollen eyes and aching ears were likely signs that gene points related to sight and hearing had been unlocked.
Xu Tui's mind immediately ran wild.
Long-distance vision?
Or dynamic vision?
Maybe ultrasonic abilities?
If it was X-ray vision...
That would be amazing.
With the pain easing, Xu Tui instinctively glanced at the tall female researcher standing in front of him.
Unfortunately, a lab coat was still just a lab coat.
He couldn't see through it!
Xu Tui felt a little disappointed.
"You're awfully young to be thinking about that."
As if she'd seen right through his thoughts, the female researcher gave Xu Tui a hard flick on the forehead.
A pigeon-egg-sized lump rose on his forehead, visibly swelling by the second.
What a grip.
Xu Tui's teeth ached from the near concussion.
Was she even a woman?
"Even if you've unlocked gene points related to vision, the effects won't manifest all at once. They take time."
"So there's still a chance..." Xu Tui instinctively looked at the female researcher's lab coat again.
The female researcher's slender eyebrows shot up, and Xu Tui instantly covered his head with both hands.
Her grip was too strong.
Better to keep his head down for now.
"All right, get out of bed."
"The restroom is right across from you. You have one minute to clean the blood off your face."
With that, the female researcher stopped paying attention to Xu Tui and went back to writing her supplemental report and notes.
"Student Xu Tui: Within one minute after the 30-minute maximum observation period ended, he experienced severe head pain lasting no more than one second."
"Mental state normal."
"Vital signs normal."
"Mild congestion in both eyes."
"Visible bleeding from both ears, no more than 1 milliliter."
"Possible unlocking of visual or auditory gene points. Recommend testing first at the visual or auditory testing halls.
The neural or mental-domain testing halls are also options.
If no results are found, then, based on the comparison of blood samples taken before and after the Gene Compound Chain Allele Potion injection, testing at the Mysterious System hall may be worth trying."
The female researcher quickly reached a conclusion about Xu Tui's Gene Aptitude Test.
She signed the report, uploaded it electronically, and handed Xu Tui a handwritten copy.
Only after stepping into the restroom did Xu Tui realize that he might have lost considerably more blood than the female researcher had said.
There was blood in his ears.
The inside of his nose reeked of blood, too.
And his mouth was full of it.
After cleaning himself up as quickly as possible, Xu Tui glared bitterly at the fresh lump on his head, his face full of gloom.
The soft handwritten test form sailed out of the female researcher's hand like a rigid card that could see, landing right in Xu Tui's hands as he walked out of the restroom.
"Go test your gene points in the testing hall. Find out which direction you've unlocked."
The female researcher casually pressed the call button, and the door swung open at once.
Everyone's been so enthusiastic, I'm posting another chapter today. That makes four chapters released on launch day, and my stockpile is shrinking fast.
If you're passing by, don't forget to bookmark and recommend!
Before you continue