The Genius Girl's Fall! The Rat God Cult Believers' Wails!

Since the entire day was free time, the students quickly began to roam about the school.

Some went out in groups to stroll around the campus.

Some gathered together to chat.

Some kept their heads down, playing on their phones.

Others flipped through new books to preview their lessons.

Shen Qinghan was one of those reading; she was currently hunched over her textbook, previewing the content with great focus and diligence.

Lin Zichen had flipped through the textbook earlier and discovered that much of the content was material he had already self-studied as a child, so he didn't bother looking at it further, turning instead to his phone to scroll through real-time news.

"Living up to expectations! The Kyoto Prodigy who once shocked the nation has now been recommended for admission to Kyoto University, where he will study at the Evolution Academy and is expected to evolve into an Advanced Being during his university years."

"Heartbreaking! A Mechanical Genius Girl, having undergone mechanical modification too early while her body was not yet fully developed, now suffers from numerous physiological issues and deformities in multiple areas; she will likely be disabled for the rest of her life."

"Major good news! Huawei Group has successfully cultivated a Rare Tier 5 spiritual plant; the global spiritual plant market may be about to undergo a massive shift."

Lin Zichen glanced at these three headlines on the homepage, his gaze quickly settling on the second piece of news regarding the Mechanical Genius Girl.

After reading the content in a few moments, he felt a complex mix of emotions.

Parents are supposed to be great.

But clearly, not everyone who has children is fit to be a parent.

The parents of this Mechanical Genius Girl, in order to market their daughter as a prodigy for profit, completely disregarded her physical safety and subjected her to all sorts of mechanical modifications.

They are unworthy of being parents.

In fact, they are unworthy of being human.

Lin Zichen shook his head, stopped dwelling on it, and scrolled down the screen to browse other news.

After reading through more than twenty articles, he discovered that a large number of them were about the Rat God Cult.

He counted them, and they accounted for nearly half of the total.

Lin Zichen frowned slightly.

Why had so much news about the Rat God Cult suddenly appeared?

Had something happened?

Driven by these questions, he clicked on and browsed every news item related to the Rat God Cult.

He then learned that the Municipal Public Security Headquarters had recently closed their net, arresting quite a few followers of the Rat God Cult.

All the related news had been concentrated and reported today.

Did they only catch the followers?

What about the Rat King, which the followers worshipped as a god?

Had it been caught?

Lin Zichen's mind was filled with thoughts, and he quickly continued to scroll down through the news.

After finishing the recommended articles on the webpage, he searched for other related news himself.

To his disappointment, he found that the Municipal Public Security Headquarters' operation this time was all thunder and no rain; they had only caught some followers and hadn't even managed to capture a single Giant Mutant Rat.

After scrolling through the news for a while longer, he felt a bit bored.

Lin Zichen put away his phone, stood up silently, and left the classroom, intending to find a secluded corner to exercise so as not to waste his time in the classroom.

After wandering around the school, he finally arrived at an empty grove.

This place had no people and no surveillance, making it the perfect secret base for his workouts.

He casually dragged over a stone weighing over a hundred pounds and began high-intensity weighted training.

[You are performing weighted push-ups, Blood Qi +2, arm muscle strength +2, chest muscle strength +2, push-up proficiency +1]

[You are performing weighted sit-ups, Blood Qi +2, abdominal muscle strength +2, sit-up proficiency +1]

[You are performing weighted squats, Blood Qi +2, leg muscle strength +2, squat proficiency +1...]

It was unknown how much time had passed, but Lin Zichen finally finished his workout, drenched in sweat.

He was exhausted, but felt fulfilled, clearly sensing that he had grown stronger once again.

"The biological rank of an ordinary adult Giant Mutant Rat is ordinary Tier 5; as long as I evolve one more level, my strength will be able to surpass them..."

Thinking of this, Lin Zichen lay back down, placed the stone he had just set aside back onto his back, and once again began to move frantically up and down against the ground.

[You performed 300 weighted push-ups, Blood Qi +600, arm muscle strength +600, chest muscle strength +600, push-up proficiency +300]

After quickly finishing a set of weighted push-ups.

Lin Zichen felt that the time was about right, so he stopped to wipe the sweat from his face and took out his phone to check the time.

Looking at the top right corner of the screen, it showed that it was already 17:20, and school would be over soon.

Afterward, he saw a WeChat notification from Shen Qinghan at the top of his screen.

He tapped it open to find three messages.

15:12.

[Hanhan: Xiao Chen, where did you go? Why haven't you come back after so long?]

16:22.

[Hanhan: Where are you? (confused emoji)]

17:11.

[Hanhan: Xiao Chen, there are only 19 minutes left until school ends. I'll stay in the classroom and wait for you. Remember to come find me when you see this message; don't just head home on your own.]

17:22.

[Zichen: I was just working out and didn't check my phone. I'm heading back now.]

After sending this reply to Shen Qinghan, Lin Zichen put away his phone and headed back to the classroom.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Li Chuxin saw him drenched in sweat and asked curiously, "What were you doing? Why are you covered in sweat?"

He Yu also asked in confusion, "Yeah, we haven't seen you all day. Did you go play basketball or soccer?"

Shen Qinghan remained quiet, simply pulling out a few tissues and handing them to Lin Zichen so he could wipe the sweat from his face.

She had wanted to wipe his face for him, but with so many people watching in the classroom, she felt too shy to do so.

Lin Zichen took the tissues and, while wiping his face, answered honestly, "I didn't go anywhere special. I was just bored sitting in the classroom, so I went outside to find a quiet spot to work out."

Li Chuxin looked at him with admiration, "As if having talent wasn't enough, you're also this hardworking. No wonder you were the top scorer in our district's high school entrance exam."

He Yu chimed in with a jab, "Good grief, you actually snuck off to work out? Do you have to be such an overachiever?"

His voice was quite loud, drawing the attention of many people nearby.

"He Yu, keep your voice down."

Li Chuxin shot him a dissatisfied look, feeling that this Dongguan Boy was far too boisterous; his voice was louder than a rooster crowing, which was quite annoying.

Realizing he had been inappropriate, He Yu quickly offered a sheepish smile, "Sorry, sorry."

At that moment, the bell rang.

Students were free to head home.

Li Chuxin took three bags out of her backpack and handed one to each of the three people in their group, saying, "Here, one bag for each of you to pack your school uniforms."

"Thanks."

"Thank you, Chuxin."

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan took the bags simultaneously, both offering a faint smile of gratitude.

He Yu took his bag and, as boisterous as ever, exclaimed, "Whoa, you actually thought ahead and kept bags in your backpack? You're so sharp!"

Seeing him acting up again, Li Chuxin rolled her eyes, speechless.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan quietly packed their things, one thinking about getting home early for dinner, the other thinking about getting home early to read.

PS: Bowing to ask for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!