Engine Theory

Today was the day to submit their university preferences.

In the Gene Great Era, many things had changed beyond recognition.

Kindergarten, primary school, middle school, and high school students all got winter and summer breaks. Only high school graduates who had taken the Gene Aptitude Test didn't.

For three months after receiving the Gene Liberation Potion, those who took it continued to improve.

Depending on their talents and genetics, as well as their training intensity and regimen, they would continue to activate a certain number of Gene Points over those three months.

A few geniuses, with the added advantage of abundant resources, could even activate a complete system of Gene Points within three months and become Gene Liberators.

Those three months were extremely important for students who had just taken the Gene Aptitude Test.

Even with few resources at their disposal, the lingering effects of the Gene Liberation Potion alone could help them improve to some extent.

Naturally, the various Gene Evolution Universities wouldn't waste those precious three months.

Nor would the country allow it.

After the Gene Aptitude Test, the Huaxia Gene Committee and the Huaxia Ministry of Education required students to submit their university preferences within twelve hours.

The Gene Evolution Universities had to complete admissions and report their final results within thirty-six hours.

The relevant departments in each prefecture had one day to issue the admission notices.

Starting on the fourth day, students could set off for the Gene Evolution University they'd applied to and register.

Freshmen were generally expected to register within three days. Those from remote areas had no more than five.

The schedule was extremely tight.

So even though Xu Tui was feeling a little out of sorts, he went back to school after breakfast.

That meant he had no chance to enter a state of Illusory Internal Vision through meditation and check whether that gray dot had made any progress.

Still, ever since he'd woken up that morning, his perception of the world around him had felt different.

Everything seemed more vivid, more lifelike and real.

Even the mosquitoes that had survived several waves of genetic extinction looked startlingly lifelike.

Xu Tui knew this wasn't a side effect of improved eyesight from the Gene Liberation Potion.

It wasn't until he reached school and stopped outside the homeroom teacher's office that he suddenly realized where this strange sensation was coming from.

Xu Tui hadn't arrived particularly early, but only a few classmates had come to see their homeroom teacher about their preferences.

They had until eight that evening to submit them, and many students were still discussing which Gene Evolution University to apply to with their entire families.

Few people were as limited in their choices as Xu Tui.

Just as Professor An Xiaoxue had asked him:

Was there something wrong with his head?

But he wasn't stupid!

Class Mom's office wasn't large, and its door was closed.

Just as he raised his hand to knock, Xu Tui suddenly froze, his hand stopping in midair.

The door was still shut, but the scene inside suddenly appeared in his mind.

Cheng Mo was rapidly filling out his preference form in front of Class Mom, Yu Zeping. His writing was smooth and confident.

He didn't hesitate once.

When he finished, he handed it to Yu Zeping to review.

But, strangely, Xu Tui had already seen which universities Cheng Mo had listed.

Huaxia Gene Evolution University.

Huaxia Gene Evolution University.

Huaxia Gene Evolution University.

All three choices were the same.

Xu Tui was stunned.

Not because Cheng Mo had listed the same university three times.

He was stunned because he was still outside the office. The door and wall stood between them, and there was even another person in the way. So how had he "seen" Cheng Mo's choices?

Inside the office, even the furrow in Yu Zeping's brow, the yellow tobacco stains on his teeth, and the cigarette between his fingers, trailing a thin wisp of smoke, appeared in astonishing detail in Xu Tui's mind.

It was a Huazi cigarette!

But the range of what he could "see" was limited to the chair behind Yu Zeping. Once he looked beyond that chair, everything abruptly vanished.

"Is this a new ability I got from activating fourteen Mysterious System Gene Points?"

"Or did I break through to it last night?"

In the Gene Great Era, any mysterious ability was conceivable.

The real question was how he'd gotten it.

Voices came from inside the office.

"Are you sure you want to list Huaxia Gene Evolution University for all three choices? If you don't get in and your application is rejected, you'll be in a tough spot." Yu Zeping was once again in full Class Mom mode.

"Our whole family discussed it all night, Class Mom. We think Huaxia Gene Evolution University is the only place at the forefront of gene research that might turn my Great Stomach God King Gene Point from a useless burden into something valuable. It could solve my problem." Cheng Mo was unusually serious.

Since the whole family had thought it through so carefully, Class Mom, Yu Zeping, didn't try to dissuade him. He only added, "Then check the box to accept automatic reassignment. If your application is rejected, you'll still have another option."

"Thanks, Class Mom."

Cheng Mo came out and spotted Xu Tui. He smiled and greeted him, but Xu Tui was already staring at him in surprise.

"Heizi, how much did you eat after you got home yesterday?"

"I only saw you last night, and somehow you've gotten a lot fatter."

Cheng Mo laughed.

"From the time I got home yesterday until now, I've eaten nine meals. My mom said I finished half a month's worth of food."

There was an indescribable bitterness in his laughter.

"I don't want to, but I'm so hungry..."

For a moment, Xu Tui didn't know how to comfort him.

"Wait for me when I come out!" Xu Tui patted Cheng Mo on the shoulder.

Cheng Mo hesitated, then nodded.

The first thing Xu Tui did when he entered Class Mom's office was look around.

"You're not hungry too, are you?" Yu Zeping asked, gazing toward the door with a melancholy expression.

There were plenty of children like Cheng Mo every year.

The Gene Liberation Potion could give them extraordinary abilities and potential.

But its side effects could leave many of them regretting it for the rest of their lives.

"Three meters!"

Xu Tui ignored his homeroom teacher and reached a conclusion.

While he'd been outside, the range at which he could sense and see through the wall into the office was about three meters.

It was somewhat like the penetrating vision he'd always dreamed of.

But it wasn't the same.

Xu Tui could still "see" even with his eyes closed.

It had nothing to do with his eyesight.

He'd tried it before entering.

While Class Mom gave him a worried look, wondering if something was wrong with his mind, Xu Tui sat down in front of him and picked up a preference form.

He filled it out in a few quick strokes.

He signed it, pressed his thumbprint to it, and handed it over.

"Huaxia Gene Evolution University. You put it down for all three choices too."

"Did you and Cheng Mo plan this together?"

"Class Mom, I looked into it. There aren't many people in the Mysterious System, and the Wisdom Heart Category is especially rare. But its abilities are considered useless—though they seem good for research.

"At most Gene Evolution Universities, the Wisdom Heart Category is either barely surviving or completely stagnant. They don't even have an associate professor, let alone a full professor.

"Take Jincheng Prefecture Gene Evolution University, for example.

"But Huaxia Gene Evolution University is at the forefront of research into the entire Mysterious System—not just in Huaxia, but across the Huaya Zone and even the whole Blue Star Alliance.

"If I want to develop my abilities as a member of the Wisdom Heart Category, Huaxia Gene Evolution University is the best choice. There's no contest."

As he spoke, Xu Tui remembered what An Xiaoxue had said: as long as he wasn't stupid...

After accepting the form, Class Mom, Yu Zeping, sighed. "You're all good kids with minds of your own. If you and Cheng Mo both get into Huaxia Gene Evolution University, that'll be a good thing. You can look out for each other.

"Then check the box to accept automatic reassignment, okay?"

Xu Tui nodded.

"Okay, that's settled. I'll wish you both the best of luck in advance."

The air suddenly grew still.

Neither Xu Tui nor Class Mom said another word.

If they did, they were afraid they'd start crying.

A knock at the door broke the silence.

Xu Tui stood up, bowed deeply to Class Mom, Yu Zeping, and left.

Outside, Xu Tui hurriedly wiped his eyes with his sleeve so Cheng Mo wouldn't make fun of him.

Inside, Class Mom, Yu Zeping, wiped the corner of his eye with a tobacco-stained finger.

The campus was nearly empty. Cheng Mo found a corner and sat down against the wall beside Xu Tui.

"Which one did you apply to?"

"Same as you."

"Huaxia Gene Evolution University?"

"I heard the Wisdom Heart Category is pretty useless. Huaxia Gene University is at the forefront of Mysterious System research, so maybe it can give me a chance to develop my abilities," Xu Tui added.

"I hope they can solve my problem too."

Cheng Mo's stomach suddenly rumbled at just the right moment. He grimaced, a trace of fear appearing in his eyes.

"Hungry again?"

Cheng Mo gave a bitter smile. "Little Leg, do you know, I don't mind becoming the Great Stomach God King.

"But I don't want to weigh three hundred pounds, five hundred pounds, and end up as big as a mountain..."

"I want a girlfriend. I want to fall in love."

"Didn't you tell us you'd already been in love once?"

"That was an unrequited crush. I wrote her three love letters, and she ignored me."

"It's fine. I hear college is a paradise for romance."

"But have you ever seen a girl who'd like a five-hundred-pound guy who has to eat nine times a day?" Cheng Mo suddenly started crying against Xu Tui's shoulder.

"Little Leg, yesterday I didn't realize how terrifying it would be to activate a stomach Gene Point."

"But after I got home, I realized that I couldn't even be called a glutton anymore..."

"I'm a freaking eating monster!

"I ate until I scared myself..."

"You know, at first, my mom kept making me delicious food.

"Then she got tired of cooking.

"The fear in their eyes when they watched me wolf down food..."

"I gained five pounds in one night."

"My dad said that if all else failed, I could get my stomach removed—ninety-five percent of it..."

"Little Leg, I'm scared."

The handsome young man, six feet tall, buried his face in Xu Tui's shoulder and cried.

Xu Tui put an arm around Cheng Mo's head, at a loss for words.

Comforting people was a skill tree he was still a long way from maxing out.

"Heizi, don't be scared. Maybe Huaxia Gene Evolution University can solve our problems."

"Every cloud has a silver lining."

"Maybe one day, you'll become an incredible Great Stomach God King."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better..."

"How am I making it up? Look, from the perspective of modern human physiology, the stomach is like an engine.

"You've activated a stomach Gene Point, which is like installing a massively powerful engine.

"It burns a lot of fuel, sure, but it's powerful.

"You just haven't found a way to use all that power yet. Once you do, you'll be unstoppable."

Cheng Mo looked up at Xu Tui.

He froze.

Xu Tui's theory actually sounded pretty convincing.

"I've read about modern human physiology too. I've never seen a theory like that."

"I read a few advanced papers when I had time."

Xu Tui didn't feel the least bit nervous about lying.

In truth, he'd come up with the idea himself the previous night after experiencing Illusory Internal Vision.

"That actually sounds pretty reasonable..."

Xu Tui and Cheng Mo had originally planned to wait for Tang Ting and see which Gene Evolution University he'd applied to.

They waited for over an hour, but he never showed up, so Xu Tui and Cheng Mo went their separate ways.

First, Tang Ting was currently having a hard time choosing which direction to pursue with his Gene Points.

Second, well, Cheng Mo was hungry.

So hungry he could barely stand it.

And that was after eating ten bags of snacks.

After treating Cheng Mo to a lavish fast-food meal, Xu Tui prepared to take the Maglev Bus home.

Xu Tui wanted to get home quickly, meditate, and enter the Illusory Internal Vision state to see whether that gray dot had lit up.

But as Xu Tui waited for the Maglev Bus at the bus stop, he suddenly realized something.

Someone might be following him.

And there was more than one person following him!

******

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