On the second day of the break, Fu Junlin woke up at dawn to find every muscle in his body completely shredded once again.
It was Big Black's doing again, but fortunately, Fu Junlin had learned his lesson this time and had held a Battle Banner in advance.
The moment he woke up, he activated the Battle Banner and recovered from his paralyzed state.
By the afternoon, the laboratory had been cleaned up.
By the time Yao Jinying got off work, Fu Junlin had already packed up his mother's and younger brother's belongings and moved them into the laboratory.
The laboratory had come with the factory lease. Zhang Cheng had no use for it, so he had turned it into a storage room, but the interior renovations had remained untouched.
The former laboratory staff must have lived there as well. There were exactly three bedrooms—not large, but more than enough for one person each—along with a shared storage room.
There was a large walk-in closet and a spacious bathroom. There was even a bathtub.
The water and electricity there were directly connected to the factory's supply.
Although Zhang Cheng's factory was not large, it was quite profitable. He would not fuss over Fu Junlin's small water and electricity expenses.
This way, they would not need to rent a hive apartment, and with no burden from utilities, they could save a considerable amount of money.
Zhang Cheng had truly scored a double blessing.
Fu Junlin had not removed the Capacity Expanders from the crystal blocks he repaired, allowing the two expanders to serve a major purpose. That meant the money Zhang Cheng had invested in buying them had not gone to waste.
Their price had nearly doubled, and he had earned all his investment back.
The second matter was naturally that the oppressed had finally risen up. Ever since Chen Changming caused that huge disaster, Zhang Cheng had kicked him straight out of the factory.
That allowed Wang Kai to smoothly become deputy factory director. As for Zhang Cheng's disappointing wife, she had become completely obedient. Their positions at home could not exactly be called reversed, but at the very least, they were evenly matched...
That night.
Yao Jinying took a proper bath. The factory used Sub-Zero-Level Infection water, the same grade as the water Fu Junlin and his family usually drank.
In the city, purified water was the highest-tier water resource. It was extremely troublesome to purify, and production was limited.
Then came Zero-Level Infection, Sub-Zero-Level Infection, Level-One Infection, Sub-Level-One Infection...
By the time water reached Sub-Level-One Infection, it was already very murky, and Flower-Drum Parasites could clearly be seen under a microscope...
When water sources were scarce, Subspecies had to rely on their immune systems to withstand the parasites and drink it.
Fu Junlin had once drunk Level-One Infection water for a period of time.
Fortunately, those days had not lasted long. Yao Jinying had protected her two sons well, and neither of them had suffered a serious infection so far.
After they had all bathed, the family of three finally had the mood to properly tour Fu Junlin's laboratory.
Zhang Cheng had kept his word.
He had prepared many commonly used laboratory devices, and he had also sent over two pieces of idle equipment from the factory. There was hardly anyone in the factory doing research now anyway.
Besides, was Fu Junlin really going to research nothing beneficial to the factory while working here?
Zhang Cheng certainly did not think so.
"Junting, look at this."
Fu Junlin mysteriously pulled a crystal block out from behind a shelf.
"Battle Flag Crystal Block?"
Fu Junting snatched it up, his eyes widening as he studied and admired it in amazement.
"They asked me to study it. I've already charged it, so I'll lend it to you for your exam. Remember to bring it back after you're done."
Fu Junlin smiled and rubbed his head.
"Really?!"
Fu Junting was overjoyed.
Students were allowed to bring various crystal blocks into the middle school entrance exams. They could bring one Battle Flag Crystal Block and one Magic Crystal Block.
After all, economic strength was also a form of strength.
If it were not, how could the situation of the poor growing ever weaker have formed?
"There won't be any problem with this, right?"
Although Yao Jinying was happy for her son, she was still worried that he might abuse the factory resources given to him.
"Don't worry, Mom."
Fu Junlin gave her a reassuring look.
"Brother, Mom, my exam is in ten days. Can you come?"
Fu Junting asked excitedly.
"Yes, I'll definitely be there. I need to see my son showing off his might!"
Yao Jinying immediately nodded and kneaded Fu Junting's cheeks.
"If I don't have a mission, I'll definitely come too."
Fu Junlin smiled and nodded as well.
On the third day of the break, Fu Junlin spent his time under Big Black's brutal training.
On the morning of the fourth day.
The break ended, and Flying Cloud Vine students returned to school.
Fu Junlin arrived at the classroom early.
After three days of getting used to each other, Fu Junlin and Big Black had found a rhythm for their training. Whenever Big Black had energy, it would begin stimulating his muscles.
Fu Junlin could feel the pain throughout the process, but he could only endure it.
Whenever he could not bear it any longer, he would take out the Battle Banner to recover, then continue training.
For nearly half of every day, his muscles were constantly being stimulated by the bored Big Black.
"Junlin!"
A cute girl with a baby face and airy bangs boldly rushed over to Fu Junlin's desk at the first opportunity.
Her lovely face was delicate, with red lips and white teeth. Her autumn-water eyes shimmered with starlight.
Her large eyes stared unblinkingly at him, making no effort to conceal the admiration within them.
When the break began three days ago, Fu Junlin had left an unforgettable, dashing image in the minds of all the girls in the class during that Arena Zone battle.
Over the past few days, some girls had practically wanted to go to his house to find him.
Fu Junlin immediately put on a polite yet awkward smile...
This baby-faced girl was named Ling Xiaobing. She was something of a looks-based fan of Fu Junlin and had been infatuated with him for a while. Later, because everyone was afraid of being embarrassed and unwilling to associate with a coward like Fu Junlin, she had also felt too embarrassed to keep circling around him.
But things were different now. Fu Junlin had real strength, and he had become synonymous with someone who kept their talents hidden.
Some people had even analyzed that Fu Junlin might have been pretending before. Perhaps he had been a hidden expert all along.
However, more people believed that he had simply gotten lucky and briefly unleashed his potential.
Maybe the Minotaur had not been as strong as it looked at the time...
In any case, the mystery that had remained unsolved throughout the three-day break still had people paying attention.
"Junlin, I made these muffins myself. They're for your lunch!"
Ling Xiaobing happily handed over an exquisite little box.
Fu Junlin did not really want to eat them, but rejecting someone who showed him goodwill on the first day back at school did not seem very nice.
So Fu Junlin smiled and nodded.
"All right, then I..."
He had originally reached out to take it, but Big Black controlled his hand and prevented his fingers from closing. What should have been taking it became pushing it away.
He directly pushed the lunchbox back.
Fu Junlin's eye twitched, and he immediately changed his words.
"Then how could I possibly accept that? I appreciate the thought, but you should keep it and eat it yourself."
Ling Xiaobing was instantly disappointed, puffing out her cheeks as she complained.
"Ah... I spent so long making them."
As she spoke, she handed the little box over again.
"You really don't need to. Why not eat them for me? I think you've gotten thinner again and need to replenish your..."
Fu Junlin smiled slightly. After refusing her, he had originally intended to flirt with her a little so she would not feel so upset.
But before he could finish, that damned Big Black controlled his hand and directly snatched the lunchbox away.
That was right—not taking it, but reaching over and grabbing it from her hand.
Ling Xiaobing was left with a dumbfounded expression.
However, seeing that Fu Junlin had accepted it, Ling Xiaobing quickly became happy again.
"Junlin, which secondary specialization are you planning to choose?"
"Mecha Master."
Fu Junlin carefully put away the lunchbox as he spoke.
"I knew it!!"
Ling Xiaobing immediately jumped in place, her smile dazzling.
"What did you know...?"
Fu Junlin looked at her, both amused and helpless.
"I'm going to study Mecha Master too!"
"Uh, aren't you a mage?"
Fu Junlin asked speechlessly.
"Yeah, I want to make Magic Mecha."
As the two spoke, quite a few students had gradually entered the classroom. Fu Junlin told her to return to her seat.
In less than five minutes, all fifty-six students in the class had arrived.
Shi Hongyu strode in from outside. Her long, toned legs were wrapped in tight black athletic pants today.
It looked as though there was a combat mission today.
"Have you all decided on your secondary specializations?"
Shi Hongyu stood at the podium and asked loudly.
"We have!!"
The entire class answered in unison.
"Good. At 8:20, line up at the specialization counter to register. After collecting your specialty belts and books, gather at the rear field.
Our class has a combat mission today. We're going to clear a Death-Cycle Arena. If we can take it down, we'll receive a large bonus."
Before you continue