Lin Zichen led Shen Qinghan home. As soon as they stepped inside, they saw the principal of Shanhai High School.
She was a middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, her hair swept up in a high bun. Dressed in a sharp women's suit, she gave off a capable air.
"Zichen, Hanhan, come sit over here and have a good chat with Principal Bai."
As soon as the two children arrived, Zhang Wanxin beckoned them over to the sofa.
Before long, Lin Zichen was seated across from the principal.
He knew she had come to recruit him, so after chatting with her briefly, he got straight to the point.
"Principal Bai, I'm leaning toward going straight on to the high school division, but I have one small request. I'd like to stay in the same class as my childhood friend here. Would that be possible?"
"Of course!"
The principal answered without a moment's hesitation.
She had already spoken with Principal Chen from the junior high division and knew Lin Zichen would make this little request.
She had also looked into everything about Shen Qinghan ahead of time.
Her academic performance was excellent. It was only because her Physical Fitness Test Data was a little lacking that she hadn't made it into the Martial Arts Elite Class.
Letting a student whose grades weren't particularly poor slip in through the back door was no big deal.
After a little more conversation, the matter was settled.
Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan both decided to enroll in Shanhai High School's high school division, where they would be in the same class, just as they had been in elementary and junior high.
The only difference was that Shen Qinghan wasn't as happy as she'd been when she first moved up from elementary to junior high.
Back then, when she found out that she and Lin Zichen would attend the same school, be in the same class, and even sit together, she had been beside herself with joy.
Now, moving up from junior high to high school, she felt mostly embarrassed, inferior, and dejected.
As she got older, Shen Qinghan had come to realize that getting in through the back door was actually rather shameful.
But every time, she had to rely on that very thing to stay in the same class and sit with Lin Zichen.
It made her feel useless, like an overgrown baby who knew only how to depend on others.
A few days later.
At the junior high division of Shanhai High School, inside the gymnasium.
Guo Xiangyuan, the Martial Arts Team's coach, was putting twenty-six team members through a grueling training session.
In the past, the school leadership hadn't cared about the Martial Arts Team, and it had few members. He hadn't been very enthusiastic about training them, and had more or less left them to their own devices.
But ever since Lin Zichen had joined the Martial Arts Team and led it to new heights, everything had changed.
The school leadership had started paying attention to the Martial Arts Team.
More students wanted to join it, too.
All these changes had made him feel more responsible. He wanted to lead the team well.
"Hello, Captain!"
"Hello, Captain!"
"Hello, Senior Shen!"
"..."
Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan had barely stepped into the gymnasium when the Martial Arts Team members training inside all stopped and greeted them.
Even Guo Xiangyuan, who had been wearing a stern expression, broke into a smile. "Zichen, Xiao Shen, there's tea on the table. It should be at just the right temperature now. Sit down and have a cup."
"No need. I'm just here to grab a yoga mat. I'll be leaving in a bit."
After saying that, Lin Zichen picked up a yoga mat and took it to a corner at the front, where he began loosening Shen Qinghan's muscles.
Shen Qinghan had just finished training on the outdoor field. Her muscles were aching all over, and she was exhausted. The moment Lin Zichen spread out the mat, she collapsed onto it.
Then she skillfully stretched her legs apart to make it easier for Lin Zichen to massage the muscles in her thighs.
After several years of training, Shen Qinghan was now in much better shape, and her figure looked more balanced, too.
Take her legs, for example. They had once been straight, slender matchsticks, with little flesh and not much appeal.
Now, she had put on a little more muscle. Her legs were fuller, felt nicer to the touch, and looked much healthier and more attractive.
"Zichen, you can press a little harder on my thigh."
"Okay."
"No, no, that's too hard! It hurts!"
"How about now?"
"Now that's just right."
Shen Qinghan lay relaxed on the yoga mat, eyes closed as she rested and eased her fatigue, enjoying the just-right pressure of Lin Zichen's massage.
About half an hour later.
The massage was over.
Shen Qinghan rose from the mat and stretched with a look of pure contentment.
Then she looked down at Lin Zichen, who was sitting beside her, and smiled. "Zichen, now it's your turn to enjoy my massage. Lie down."
"Remember to press hard."
"No problem. I'll satisfy all your needs!"
"Then go ahead. Start with my calves."
As he spoke, Lin Zichen lay down and let Shen Qinghan's soft, fair hands work over his body.
A month later.
It was August 1.
Lin Zichen, who had been on the Martial Arts Team for three years, took part in the Eight-School League for the third time.
Just as in the previous two competitions, he single-handedly crushed the entire opposing school.
He swept through all three rounds and took the championship with a perfect record.
After collecting his share of the prize money,
Lin Zichen immediately went to the mall to find the old landlord and ask him to buy something for him.
The Ghost Shadow Squid Atlas needed only 20% more progress to unlock. With the 20,000 yuan he'd received from the prize money, he could unlock it today.
Before long,
he had the Ghost Shadow Squid meat he'd asked the man to buy.
Lin Zichen left the mall and went to a small grove without surveillance cameras. Eagerly, he began devouring it.
[You devoured a large amount of the Life Origin of "Ghost Shadow Squid"] [Ghost Shadow Squid Atlas: 100%]
Once the text appeared, a blue squid gradually took shape in the Void. It swam leisurely through an ocean of Void, entirely at ease.
It was a Ghost Shadow Squid.
It had eighteen tentacles.
Each tentacle had an eye growing on it.
It looked especially bizarre.
Suddenly, the Ghost Shadow Squid seemed to notice Lin Zichen watching it. It plunged into the depths of the Void ocean and vanished without a trace.
At the same time, a new line of text appeared in the Void.
[You successfully unlocked the Ghost Shadow Squid Atlas and acquired the Biological Attribute—Water Fusion Fortune] [Water Fusion Fortune: Greatly enhances your affinity with water, allowing you to move freely in it and come and go without a trace]
That was it?
After reading the description, Lin Zichen's first thought was that Water Fusion Fortune was a bit of a dud.
To be thorough, he immediately went to the nearest swimming pool to test out its effects.
He spent a full three hours soaking in the pool.
In the end, he found that Water Fusion Fortune had the following effects.
One: His skin wouldn't wrinkle after soaking in water for a long time, unlike before.
Two: Soaking in water felt very comfortable.
Three: When swimming, he could clearly feel that the water offered much less resistance.
That was all. It had no other effects.
Lin Zichen was a little disappointed. Compared to use it or lose it, Heavenly Human Wisdom Root, and Survival of the Fittest, Water Fusion Fortune was far less useful.
But then he thought about it. It was only natural for its effects to be so much weaker.
After all, the Ghost Shadow Squid was a very low-level Exotic Beast. It was only good for eating and had no value at all for Gene Fusion.
Naturally, the Biological Attribute gained by unlocking its atlas would be low-level as well.
If he wanted to obtain a higher-level Biological Attribute, he would probably have to eat advanced Exotic Beasts used for Gene Fusion.
Thinking about it that way, Lin Zichen felt better.
After all, he'd bought the Biological Attribute Water Fusion Fortune for only 100,000 yuan. It was already well worth the money; there was no need to be disappointed.
If he wanted better Biological Attributes, he could save up and buy them later. Sooner or later, he'd get them.
Or, once he grew stronger, he could hunt wild Exotic Beasts and devour them.
For example, the Giant Mutant Rats closest to him... Lin Zichen suddenly had a daring thought.
PS: Setting out a bowl, hoping for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!
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