Teacher, I'm Hungry

Xu Tui had barely stepped out when Cheng Mo, Tang Ting, and their homeroom teacher, Yu Zeping, crowded around him.

Yu Zeping was the quickest to reach him.

"How did it go?"

"You took so long. I thought your genome had collapsed!" Cheng Mo grinned.

Xu Tui silently glanced at him.

"I lasted longer than you. Got a problem with that?"

Cheng Mo: "."

"Whoa, Little Leg, looks like you're really about to become a big shot this time!

You've got a bump growing right out of your head.

Are you about to unlock humanity's long-lost third eye?

Or grow antennae like an insect?" Tang Ting, the hefty guy, gawked at Xu Tui's forehead and hollered, drawing the attention of the entire hall.

Xu Tui: "."

He couldn't bring himself to explain what had really caused the bump on his head.

In an instant, countless gazes fell on Xu Tui.

The more unusual the change, the greater the potential!

That was an ironclad rule of the Gene Aptitude Test.

And Xu Tui's enormous forehead bump was drawing attention in proportion to how ironclad that rule was.

Yu Zeping was stunned.

Cheng Blackie stared at the bump on Xu Tui's head, then reached out to touch it.

"Why does it look like a swelling to me?"

"I think I got one of those when I was a kid, too?" Cheng Mo said, his head full of question marks.

Thwack!

Yu Zeping struck Cheng Mo on the forehead with a quick flick, leaving him looking utterly aggrieved.

He'd only been telling the truth!

"Then why don't you grow a bump like this?" Yu Zeping snapped.

Nothing changed on Cheng Mo's forehead.

Cheng Mo: "."

"Maybe you didn't hit him hard enough, homeroom teacher. How about giving him another one?

With all your strength!" Xu Tui finally spoke after a long silence.

Cheng Mo immediately shielded his forehead and backed away three steps, retreating to a safe distance.

If the teacher hit him with all his strength again, there was no telling whether it would cause an unusual change,

but a concussion was guaranteed.

Cheng Mo wasn't stupid.

"Let me see your test slip."

Yu Zeping, anxious to know, snatched the slip from Xu Tui's hand. Cheng Mo and Tang Ting crowded around just as eagerly.

"Your ear was bleeding, too?"

"Priority testing in the vision and hearing halls?"

Yu Zeping's eyes lit up. He hurriedly ushered Xu Tui toward the vision and hearing test halls.

"Then let's get those tests done first."

Xu Tui hadn't even had a chance to compare notes with Cheng Mo, Tang Ting, and the rest of his classmates before Yu Zeping hustled him into the vision test hall.

Cheng Mo had been called in at the same time as Xu Tui. Tang Ting, who weighed a hundred kilograms, was right after Xu Tui on the roster. He should have taken the Gene Liberation Potion, too.

After all, Xu Tui's clinical observation period had been unusually long.

Most people only needed five minutes.

So those two had probably already finished their tests to determine which Gene Points they'd unlocked.

Xu Tui wondered what kinds of Gene Points Cheng Mo and Tang Ting had activated.

Just before the others vanished from view, Xu Tui caught sight of Tang Ting's hundred-kilogram frame, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Could Tang Ting have unlocked a Gene Point in his stomach?"

The vision test hall was simple, with a row of stations equipped with various vision-testing instruments.

At stations one through six, Xu Tui only needed to follow the instructions for thirty seconds to a minute. The machines printed out the results automatically.

He'd gone through this once before the test, so it was familiar.

About four minutes later, the final testing machine printed out his results.

The sheet had two sets of data: one from before the test and one from after he'd taken the Gene Liberation Potion.

The difference was clear.

Standard vision: 4.7 before the test, 5.4 now.

Dynamic vision: none before, none now.

Tracking and target-capture vision: none before, none now.

X-ray vision: none before, none now.

The results on the sheet were clear. Xu Tui didn't need a test instructor to interpret them; he could tell for himself that he hadn't activated any vision-related Gene Points.

"After comprehensive testing, this student's changes in vision fall within the normal range of basic physical improvements from the Gene Compound Chain Allele Potion. No traits indicating the activation of vision-related Gene Points have been observed. Further testing in other categories is recommended."

Signed and stamped.

Xu Tui walked out of the vision test hall, somewhat dazed.

An inexplicable emptiness welled up inside him.

He hadn't even gained X-ray vision.

Seeing Xu Tui's expression, Yu Zeping guessed the result without looking at the sheet.

He promptly ushered Xu Tui toward the hearing test hall.

"Your ear canal was bleeding after you took the potion, so there's a good chance you've got sound-related Gene Points. Don't worry.

If you can learn to emit infrasonic waves someday, you'll be a superhero."

Yu Zeping was thoughtful enough to offer Xu Tui some encouragement.

Nearby, Cheng Mo, Tang Ting, and the other students waiting outside glanced at Xu Tui as he was ushered in, then gathered together to talk again.

Tang Ting, the hundred-kilogram hulk, looked excited, occasionally pumping his fist and flexing.

Cheng Mo, on the other hand, looked rather glum.

The hearing test hall was a little more complicated than the vision test hall and had more test items, but each one was quick.

There were two main categories.

Listening and speaking.

More precisely, listening and shouting.

After taking the Gene Liberation Potion and activating sound-related Gene Points, many students experienced various changes related to sound.

Besides improved hearing, they might be able to hear different frequencies or ranges of radio waves, or pick up certain special, ultra-high-frequency sounds.

They might also be able to produce unusual sounds, such as infrasound or ultrasound.

The entire test was conducted using instruments.

Five minutes later, Xu Tui received his results.

The test instructor's assessment was much like the one in the vision test hall.

"After comprehensive testing, this student's changes in sound-related abilities fall within the normal range of basic physical improvements from the Gene Compound Chain Allele Potion. No traits indicating the activation of sound-related Gene Points have been observed. Further testing in other categories is recommended."

As soon as Xu Tui stepped out, Yu Zeping snatched the results sheet from him. His expression grew tense.

Without another word, he sent Xu Tui to the nervous system test hall.

Three of the students in his class had scored above the Dual Excellence Line, and two of them were already as good as done for.

Well, not exactly done for. It was just that, well...

Yu Zeping's heart sank lower with every result.

Xu Tui's heart sank lower, too.

The nervous system test hall mainly tested reaction speed, and its results were the same.

The results from the cognitive domain test hall, which tested memory and learning ability, were the same as well.

Xu Tui's face had gone pale.

Yu Zeping looked troubled.

"Well, don't worry. There's still the Mysterious System test hall."

Though he said that, Yu Zeping didn't take Xu Tui there.

The Mysterious System test hall wasn't open to just anyone. Students needed a recommendation from a test instructor to enter.

As it happened, Xu Tui already had one.

It was the handwritten test slip from the female researcher.

"If no traits are found, and after comparing blood samples taken before and after the Gene Compound Chain Allele Potion, testing in the Mysterious System hall may be considered."

That handwritten slip gave Xu Tui permission to go to the Mysterious System test hall.

But first, they had to compare his blood samples from before and after he'd taken the Gene Compound Chain Allele Potion. Only then could he be cleared to enter.

For now, all they could do was wait for the blood test results.

But faced with the situation, both Yu Zeping and Xu Tui felt rather pessimistic.

According to the exam guides written by older students, if someone activated Mysterious System Gene Points, the signs were usually extremely obvious.

Take the short student who'd been confirmed as belonging to the Extraordinary System. Even without entering a test hall, he'd shown unusual effects around his body.

His body hair might spontaneously catch fire, or objects he touched might ignite with ease.

When Xu Tui came out, the classmates who'd already finished their tests gathered around him.

There was no need to ask. One look at their faces told them the result.

There was no way to comfort him in a situation like this.

There wouldn't be another chance.

One test decided a lifetime!

Of course, even without activating any Gene Points, it wasn't all bad.

As long as they'd taken the Gene Liberation Potion, their basic attributes would improve by five to twenty percent, depending on the potion's grade.

That gave them an advantage in both their studies and their future careers.

Besides, Xu Tui had taken a Grade C Gene Liberation Potion.

But the chance of strengthening his genes in the future had become very slim.

"It's okay. I only activated three Gene Points, and they're basically useless. I took a Grade D Gene Liberation Potion, too, so I'm worse off than you." One of his classmates tried to console him.

Suddenly, Cheng Mo let out a long sigh.

"Hey, be grateful. No matter what, you've got it better than me."

Xu Tui looked over. Cheng Mo genuinely seemed crestfallen, which left him puzzled.

"I activated eleven Gene Points. Not bad, right?" Cheng Mo said, pointing at himself with a bitter smile.

Eleven Gene Points.

That wasn't just good.

It was impressive.

The minimum requirement for entering Jincheng Gene Evolution University was only five Gene Points.

And the requirement for Huaxia Gene Evolution University, ranked among the top three in the country, was only ten.

"But damn it!"

Cheng Mo pointed to his chest, looking close to tears.

"Damn it, seven of the eleven Gene Points I activated are in my stomach, concentrated in my digestive system."

"Am I destined to become the Great Stomach God King?"

Cheng Mo cried out to the heavens.

"I don't even eat that much normally!"

"Not even a third as much as Tang Ting!"

"How did this hundred-kilogram guy unlock speed and strength Gene Points?"

"He looks way more like the guy destined to become the Great Stomach God King!"

"So how did I end up with them?"

As he spoke, Cheng Mo's eyes began to redden.

The six-foot-tall guy crouched on the ground.

Xu Tui was speechless.

Tang Ting was even more speechless.

He was getting blamed just for being fat.

That was why Yu Zeping had said Cheng Mo was as good as done for.

Gene Points in the digestive system, especially those in the stomach, made a person eat more, grow fatter, and recover remarkably well.

They were often called "Gene Points for gluttons."

Imagining that Cheng Mo, a six-foot-tall heartthrob with long legs, might one day become a three-hundred-kilogram human mountain made Yu Zeping ache with sympathy.

An ache for no particular reason.

"Cheng Mo, if you're a man, stand up!

You've still activated a few Gene Points in other categories. There's still hope.

I'll do everything I can to help you. I'll get in touch with some old colleagues and ask them to look into ways to strengthen your genes.

If you run into trouble, I'll help you!" Yu Zeping said.

Cheng Mo, who had looked so dejected just moments ago, suddenly sprang to his feet.

"Boss, I have a problem right now."

At that very moment, in that very situation,

Boss Yu Zeping spoke with nearly fearless resolve. "Go on. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely help you."

"Boss, I'm hungry!"

Right on cue, Cheng Mo's stomach let out a thunderous rumble!

*******

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