A Top Student's Life Needs No Explanation

"Lu Zhou, wake up!"

His shoulders were shaken violently again. Lu Zhou slowly opened his eyes and saw Wu Dahai's chubby face.

"Damn! You're finally awake." Wu Dahai let out a long breath and withdrew his hand from Lu Zhou's shoulder. Smiling awkwardly, he said, "Well, don't take it the wrong way. I wasn't trying to disturb your rest. I just saw that you were snoring and figured you should be fine."

Lu Zhou looked at the white walls around him and the hospital beds with curtains. "...Where am I?"

"You don't remember? You got heatstroke outside the China Unicom service hall!" Wu Dahai sat back down in his chair, sighed, and patted his thick thigh. "Hey, what's wrong with you? I told you not to push yourself, but you wouldn't listen. We're just doing part-time work, not making a career out of this. What are you working yourself so hard for? Look at you now—you've sacrificed your health. Do you think it was worth it?"

Lu Zhou forced a smile. "What did the doctor say... is wrong with me?"

"Nothing much, just a little dehydration." Wu Dahai nodded toward the bedside table. "I put some water there for you. Remember to drink plenty."

Lu Zhou swallowed and said sincerely, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. You're my junior, after all. It's only right for me, as your senior, to look after you." Wu Dahai waved a hand. "Get some proper rest. Once you're fine, hurry back to school. I've already transferred your part-time wages to your Alipay, so check it. And don't worry about the medical bills. It wasn't much, and I already paid them."

"How can I let you do that? I..."

"Enough, stop fussing. I arranged this job for you, so if something happened to you, I naturally bear some responsibility." Wu Dahai rose from his stool. "That's that. Rest for the next few days. Don't rush back to work."

Lu Zhou wanted to say something more, but in the end, he said nothing. He merely nodded and thanked him again.

Wu Dahai waved, indicating there was no need for thanks, then left.

Leaning against the hospital bed, Lu Zhou stared at the ceiling and sighed.

"Looks like I'll have to find another part-time job..."

After such a major incident, Wu Dahai probably would not let him go back. Besides, Lu Zhou himself would be too embarrassed. He had caused someone else so much trouble, yet he still wanted to ask them for help.

Turning over, Lu Zhou thought of that bizarre dream from earlier. He closed his eyes and softly murmured, "System."

No response.

"Black Technology System."

Still no response.

Lu Zhou's cheeks reddened slightly.

Damn it!

Looks like it really was a dream...

However, just as Lu Zhou thought that and opened his eyes, he was instantly stunned by the sight before him.

Flawless white covered the boundless space. There was also a translucent holographic screen and an attribute panel filled with zeros. Everything felt so real.

After a brief moment of shock, Lu Zhou clenched his fists, overcome with wild joy.

Haha! This was real! It wasn't a dream!

At that moment, a line of text suddenly appeared on the translucent holographic panel.

[Please choose a mission]

Trying hard to calm his excitement, Lu Zhou stepped forward and tapped the [Missions] icon on the screen.

Immediately afterward, a translucent dialog box appeared before him.

[

Mission 1: Build a Strong Body

Description: To do good scientific research, you first need a healthy body—one capable of outrunning reporters, beating zombies and aliens, and staying awake for seventy-two hours straight. Physical exercise cannot wait. Host, start now.

Requirement: Complete a five-kilometer jog within one hour. Silently recite "Mission Start" to begin the timer. (The challenge may be repeated after failure.)

Reward: 20 points of random subject experience, one draw chance (100% junk)]

[

Mission 2: Develop Connections.

Description: Academic research is not about wining and dining, but if you want to enter academic circles, you must learn how to build connections.

Requirement: Raise your favorability with Professor Lu Fangping, head of Jinling University's Mathematics Department, to Friendly (favorability of 30; the mission target's detailed favorability value will be displayed after the mission begins).

Reward: 100 points of mathematics experience. 400 points. One draw chance (97% junk, 3% black technology sample)]

[

Mission 3: A Top Student's Life Needs No Explanation.

Requirement: Accumulate 24 hours idling in the library. Silently reciting "Mission Start" will count as beginning the mission.

Reward: The exact amount of subject experience will be determined by the type and value coefficient of the books read. 100 points. One draw chance (90% junk, 9% samples, 1% blueprint)]

This system was pretty straightforward. It even listed the drop rates.

But what the hell was with the long-distance run? And the draw had a one-hundred-percent chance of giving junk?! What a scam!

And what was with raising favorability with a professor? Treating him to meals? Giving him gifts directly? Either way, it sounded like it would cost quite a bit of money...

Only the last one looked somewhat normal. Although it did not directly state how much experience he could obtain, it had the lowest chance of drawing junk! Going by the logic of online games, this mission should be the so-called optimal choice, right?

Besides, idling in the library for twenty-four hours did not sound particularly difficult.

Having figured that out, Lu Zhou stopped hesitating and immediately chose Mission Three.

A top student's life needed no explanation!

[Mission choices cannot be changed after selection. There is no completion time limit. Abandoning a mission costs 200 points. The host currently has 0 points. Confirm selection? (First reminder)]

Lu Zhou said without hesitation, "Confirm!"

[Selection successful. Good luck.]

A flash of white light passed through the screen. On his attribute panel, the line labeled [Missions] changed from "None" to "Mission Three."

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and silently recited the command to exit the system. When Lu Zhou opened his eyes again, he was still in the hospital room.

Lying in bed, Lu Zhou spent about five minutes slowly processing the information in his mind.

Though he did not know why, he seemed to have become the host of the Black Technology System.

Thinking back to how Wu Dahai had shaken him awake earlier, that system space should have existed deep within his consciousness, independent of the real world. And when he entered the system, time inside and outside the system space should have passed in parallel.

Honestly, even now, Lu Zhou still had no real sense that the system truly existed.

But none of that mattered.

Whether it was an alien conspiracy, an April Fools' joke, or a problem with his brain, he had already accepted the mission. He would know after trying to complete it.

With that thought, Lu Zhou picked up the cup from the bedside table, drained it in one gulp, then got out of bed.

After having his temperature checked by the nurse on duty and confirming that he was no longer seriously ill, he left the hospital and walked to a nearby bus stop to catch a bus back to school.

When he returned to the dormitory, only Liu Rui was inside. The other two were probably out at an internet café.

Noticing Lu Zhou's return, Liu Rui put down the reference book he had been reviewing, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Lu Zhou, I heard you got heatstroke?"

"Yeah... but it's nothing serious." Lu Zhou forced a smile and headed toward his bed.

In this kind of four-person dormitory, the beds were on top, while the desks and cabinets were below. He usually tossed all sorts of magnetic cards into this drawer.

After searching for quite a while, he finally found his library card. Lu Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed his shoulder bag, and headed out of the dormitory.

The evening breeze rustled through the plane trees, making a soft swishing sound.

Along the road illuminated by streetlights, students and professors carrying books came and went. On the track in the nearby field, some people walked hand in hand, while others ran together in the evening. This campus seemed forever lively and full of life.

It was already eight o'clock. Looking at the brightly lit library, Lu Zhou felt both unfamiliarity and an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

How long had it been since he had last come here?

Taking a deep breath, he stepped toward the library with unease in his heart.