The Sound of the Sea

During their few days of vacation by the sea, Lin Zichen did only two things each day.

First, during the day, he had Shen Qinghan perform all kinds of underwater movements while he observed from the side, seeing if he could uncover the secrets behind her.

Second, at night, when no one was around, he went underwater and trained intensely, improving his abilities in the water.

And so, several days passed.

In the blink of an eye, it was the last night of their seaside vacation.

That evening, Lin Zichen had just finished dinner and was lying on his bed, watching videos on his phone and learning all sorts of things about the ocean.

He hadn't watched for long when Shen Qinghan sent him a message on WeChat.

[Hanhan: Xiao Chen, come to my room for a minute. I have a surprise for you!]

[Zichen: Sure, I'm on my way.]

After replying, Lin Zichen got out of bed and headed to Shen Qinghan's room to see what surprise she had prepared.

"Hanhan, open the door."

Standing outside her room, Lin Zichen raised a hand and knocked.

Ever since the last time he'd walked into her room without knocking and accidentally caught sight of Shen Qinghan wearing a diaper, he'd become much more cautious.

"The door's unlocked. Just come in."

Shen Qinghan's voice came from inside, sounding a little nervous and bashful.

Lin Zichen noticed something was off in her voice, and his curiosity immediately flared.

What kind of surprise had Shen Qinghan prepared to make her sound so nervous and bashful?

With that thought, he opened the door and went in.

The first thing he saw was Shen Qinghan standing beside the bed in a swimsuit, her face tinged with red as she watched him enter, looking bashful.

This swimsuit was different from the one she wore at the beach during the day.

It looked more like a proper swimsuit, but showed more skin—there wasn't much difference between it and underwear.

"Xiao Chen, do you think it looks good?" Shen Qinghan suppressed her embarrassment, walked over to Lin Zichen, and turned around to show off her swimsuit.

Xu Meng had prepared the swimsuit for her while she was still at home, intending for Shen Qinghan to wear it once they got to the seaside.

Unfortunately, Shen Qinghan had been too embarrassed to put it on. They'd been vacationing by the sea for days, and she hadn't worn it even once.

That was exactly why she thought it'd be a shame not to wear it at all. She'd decided to put it on in her room and show Lin Zichen, just to see what he thought.

"It looks great. It really suits you."

Lin Zichen gave Shen Qinghan a few appraising looks and answered honestly.

"Really?"

"Really."

Lin Zichen wasn't flattering her. He meant every word.

After all, Shen Qinghan looked perfect in a swimsuit, both in the face and figure department. The two together made for a truly beautiful sight.

If she walked along the beach like that, at least eighty percent of the people she passed would turn to look.

"By the way, it's pretty nice taking a walk on the beach at night with the sea breeze blowing. Want to come down with me and see for yourself?"

Lin Zichen was at the age when his blood ran hot. Facing Shen Qinghan in a swimsuit, he knew that if he kept looking, his thoughts might stray somewhere they shouldn't. So he came up with this suggestion.

Shen Qinghan agreed without hesitation. "We absolutely have to try it. Wait a moment while I change."

As she spoke, she picked up the casual clothes on the bed and went into the bathroom attached to the room to change.

She was completely at ease around Lin Zichen. She didn't even ask him to wait outside the room.

On the beach at night.

A gentle breeze stirred.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan had both taken off their shoes and were walking barefoot along the sand, enjoying the feel of the grains beneath their feet.

"Xiao Chen, walking on the beach at night really is so nice. I can't believe I didn't come for a walk on the beach any of the last few nights. What a waste."

Shen Qinghan felt she'd really missed out.

Lin Zichen smiled. "It's fine. We'll have plenty of chances to come to the seaside again. We can come every summer vacation."

"That's true. From now on, whenever we're on break, both our families can come to the seaside together. We can swim together, play beach volleyball together, barbecue on the shore together, and eat all kinds of delicious meat skewers!"

At the mention of meat skewers, Shen Qinghan swallowed, her appetite whetted.

Seeing her like that reminded Lin Zichen of when they used to go shopping at the mall as kids.

Back then, Zhang Wanxin loved going to the mall and often invited Xu Meng along.

Shen Qinghan would come with Xu Meng, and every time they passed a snack shop, drool would gather at the corner of her mouth. Then she'd stop in her tracks and, in her childish little voice, ask to buy some snacks.

It was always the same. Not once had she made an exception.

As he thought about it, Lin Zichen couldn't help looking Shen Qinghan over, comparing her with the little foodie she'd been back then.

In a word, girls changed completely as they grew up.

She used to be a little girl with chubby cheeks and short legs. Now she was a young woman with a delicate face and long, slender legs. She'd gone from cute to beautiful.

"Is my face really that pretty? We've walked more than a hundred meters, and you've been staring at it the whole time."

Shen Qinghan couldn't take Lin Zichen's gaze anymore. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke.

Lin Zichen smiled. "It really is pretty. Prettier than a lot of those so-called actresses."

"Oh, stop saying things like that. You're just up to no good and trying to make me blush!"

Shen Qinghan really couldn't handle being praised like that. It made her so embarrassed that she could barely walk naturally.

By then, the two of them had unknowingly waded into the seawater nearby.

Their feet felt delightfully cool as the water washed over them.

Looking down at the water, Lin Zichen thought of the vibrant world beneath the waves. On a whim, he turned to Shen Qinghan and asked, "Want to dive with me and take a look at the colorful underwater world?"

"How do we dive?"

"I'll teach you."

As he spoke, Lin Zichen led Shen Qinghan farther into the shallow water, and together they dived into the underwater world, which was only a few meters deep.

But less than two seconds after they went under, Shen Qinghan's expression suddenly tensed. She tapped Lin Zichen, signaling that she wanted to surface and didn't want to dive anymore.

Seeing this, Lin Zichen quickly brought her back up to the surface.

The moment they broke through the water, Shen Qinghan's face was deathly pale. "Quick, Xiao Chen, let's get back to shore! We need to get away from the sea!"

Lin Zichen had no idea what was going on, but he didn't rush to ask. He swam to shore with her first.

Once they were on land, he immediately asked, bewildered, "What happened? Why did you suddenly get so nervous?"

"A voice. I heard a voice. As soon as I dived underwater, a really strange sound started coming from beside my ear. It was so strange it was almost terrifying."

"What kind of sound?"

"I couldn't understand it. Maybe it was a language I don't know. I only know it was a woman's voice. It sounded real, and it kept echoing beside my ear until I came back to the surface."

Shen Qinghan still looked shaken.

Lin Zichen was even more confused. A woman's voice? A language she couldn't understand? Echoing beside her ear the whole time? How had he not heard anything, when he'd been diving too?

"Come on, Xiao Chen, let's go back. I don't want to stay on this beach any longer. The back of my neck feels cold. It's kind of scary."

Shen Qinghan looked frightened.

Seeing how scared she was, Lin Zichen didn't linger on the beach either. He quickly took her back to their seaside room.

Late at night.

On the bed.

Lin Zichen still couldn't sleep. His mind was full of what Shen Qinghan had told him—that she'd heard a woman's voice while diving.

The more he thought about it, the more his skin crawled. He couldn't help imagining it had something to do with a water ghost.

But soon, he realized all this was pointless overthinking. The more he dwelled on it, the more time he wasted.

So, to stop himself from thinking about it, he took out his phone and started scrolling through the news.

He hadn't been at it long when he came across some unexpected news.

There had been another sighting of a Giant Mutant Rat in Shanhai City!

A fishing enthusiast had gone night fishing by the river and been carried off by a Giant Mutant Rat that suddenly appeared. No one knew whether he was alive or dead.

After reading the news, Lin Zichen was immediately filled with urgency. Since he couldn't sleep with his mind in such a mess anyway, he might as well get out of bed and train.

So... he got out of bed and started training.

[You did 1,000 weighted push-ups. Vitality +2,000, arm muscle strength +2,000, chest muscle strength +2,000, push-up proficiency +1,000]

[You did 1,000 weighted sit-ups. Vitality +2,000, abdominal muscle strength +2,000, sit-up proficiency +1,000]

[You did 1,000 weighted squats. Vitality +2,000, leg muscle strength +2,000, squat proficiency +1,000]

[Your Biological Rank increased to Ordinary Tier 5]

As he worked out, Lin Zichen was surprised to discover that he'd evolved!

His Biological Rank had advanced from Ordinary Tier 4 to Ordinary Tier 5!

Ordinary Tier 5 was a Biological Rank that could go toe-to-toe with an adult Giant Mutant Rat!

"I wonder how much those three basic attributes have increased. I'll have to test them..."

With that thought, Lin Zichen immediately took the measuring equipment out of his luggage and hurried outside to find somewhere to test his physical abilities.

It took about half an hour to measure all three basic attributes.

He could sprint a hundred meters in just 3.64 seconds.

He could jump 6.98 meters vertically.

He could lift a car weighing around 1,600 kilograms with one hand.

Compared to when he'd just broken through to Ordinary Tier 4, the improvements were remarkable.

His hundred-meter sprint time had dropped by 0.85 seconds, his vertical jump had increased by 1.33 meters, and the weight he could lift with one hand had increased by 510 kilograms.