Chapter 160: 127. It's better to rely on oneself than on others.
Leaving the gymnasium's rooftop, he returned to the dormitory.
As soon as Lin Zichen entered, he saw Shen Qinghan exercising in the training room.
Without the air conditioner on, she was drenched in sweat.
For convenience and comfort, Shen Qinghan wasn't wearing underwear while training. The soaked clothes clung tightly to her body, perfectly showcasing her graceful figure in a very tempting way.
Witnessing this scene, Lin Zichen couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.
The little girl who used to shyly wet the bed had unknowingly grown into a beautiful young woman with perfect looks and figure, a heartthrob to thousands.
Looking back now, it seemed as if in the blink of an eye, she had suddenly grown up, giving him the surreal feeling of playing a nurturing game.
He allowed himself a few moments of such reflections.
Soon after, Lin Zichen sat down on the sofa and pulled out his phone to browse the school app's mall, often referred to by the seniors as the Credit Mall.
Gene reagents, alloy equipment, high-tech gadgets, and so on—he merely glanced at them, focusing instead on the Exotic Beast Meat.
He browsed for almost half an hour.
Eventually, Lin Zichen's gaze settled on the Undead Slug Meat.
He had seen this type of Exotic Beast Meat in a mall before the college entrance exam, selling for 100,000 a pound.
In the Credit Mall, however, it cost only 8 credits per pound.
It was like getting a 20% discount—much cheaper.
Without a doubt, this must have been a special price available only to Shan University students.
He now had a total of 769 credits.
At 8 credits a pound, he could buy 96 pounds.
The remaining 4 pounds he could buy with money from an outside mall.
That way, he could unlock the Undead Slug album.
He was curious about the Biometric Attributes he might gain...
Thinking this, Lin Zichen was about to place an order in the mall for 96 pounds of Undead Slug Meat.
Just as he was about to submit the order, he had a second thought, feeling that doing so wasn't quite right.
A freshman who suddenly spends over 700 credits on Undead Slug Meat—this behavior would look abnormal no matter how you sliced it, surely drawing others' attention.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, it would be better to spread out the purchases over time.
He'd buy a bit every so often.
For now, he decided to buy just 10 pounds.
With that decision made, Lin Zichen spent 80 credits to order 10 pounds of Undead Slug Meat.
After completing his purchase, he took out the Qi-Blood Pills that Liu Chuanwu had given him.
There were 10 in total.
Each one was the size of a soybean, bright red and glossy, emitting a faint and pleasant fragrance.
Lin Zichen tried one, popping it into his mouth. It melted upon entry, turning into a warm stream and flooding into his body, making him feel warmly invigorated.
Simultaneously, a digital prompt popped up in the void.
[Qi-Blood +108]
Is that all the Qi-Blood it adds?
The effect was less impressive than simply running a few kilometers with the boost of his Biometric Attribute, "From Use Springs Strength", which would increase his Qi-Blood more.
Better to give them to Han Han.
Her Biological Level is low; the effect should be good on her.
As Lin Zichen was contemplating this, Shen Qinghan happened to walk out of the training room.
She was holding a pair of fruit earphones still playing music and stopped beside Lin Zichen, somewhat out of breath. "When did you get back?" she asked.
"I came back half an hour ago."
Lin Zichen handed her a Qi-Blood Pill and then said, "Here, try a Qi-Blood Pill and see how it works."
Shen Qinghan accepted it without hesitation and swallowed it immediately.
A few seconds later, her body started to sweat profusely, her cheeks turned a rosy red, and she seemed to be overheating.
"How do you feel?"
Lin Zichen asked while looking at Shen Qinghan.
Looking pleasantly surprised, Shen Qinghan said, "My body feels so warm, and my Qi-Blood feels much fuller. Xiao Chen, this Qi-Blood Pill is really good!"
"That's good. Take the remaining eight. Eat no more than one a day."
"Aren't you going to have one?"
"I've just had one. It's not that effective for me; it would be a waste."
"Oh, I see."
Shen Qinghan nodded and took the small bottle Lin Zichen handed her.
Gazing at the eight Qi-Blood Pills in the bottle, she smiled sweetly and said, "With both credits and Qi-Blood Pills, it feels like I'm being sponsored by a sugar daddy."
Lin Zichen chuckled and replied, "If anyone is being sponsored, it's me by you. I'm living in your dorm after all."
"Then we're mutually sponsoring each other," Shen Qinghan said with a smile, and then she asked, "What would you like for dinner tonight? I'll go cook it for you."
Lin Zichen thought for a moment and replied, "Eating regular meals gets a bit tiresome, let's have some soup noodles instead, and a plate of cucumber salad. What do you think?"
"Sure, leave it to me. Dinner will be ready in half an hour!"
Shen Qinghan assured him with a pat on her chest.
After that, she started to undress while heading to the bathroom.
She had worked up too much sweat during the exercise and needed to take a shower to cool off and change into clean clothes before heading to the kitchen to cook.
...
After dinner,
the two sat on the sofa, delving into their books to study a variety of complex evolutionary knowledge.
After roughly two hours, when the food they had eaten had mostly digested, they went into the training room to exercise.
Shen Qinghan was doing strength training.
Lin Zichen sat cross-legged on the ground, undergoing his second Tempering Skin session.
Around 11 pm.
The two finished their training, took a shower together, and went to bed in their room.
However, they didn't go straight to sleep but lay there and started chatting.
"Xiao Chen, your performance in today's school trial was too exaggerated, the so-called peerless geniuses in my class were all dumbfounded by you; I bet they're still questioning their lives right now."
"It's not that serious."
"It is that serious."
Shen Qinghan's hands were restless, skillfully massaging Lin Zichen while speaking, "I just scrolled through the school forum, and everyone is discussing you there. A lot of people are demoralized because of you."
"Not just the freshmen, but also the seniors, quite a few sophomores, juniors, and even seniors say they could never take on the entire freshman genius class on their own, claiming you're an Exotic Beast in human skin."
"Also, I saw someone on the forum creating a group, and the group's name is 'Chen God Support Club'—so, you've got another fan club."
At this point, Shen Qinghan couldn't help but express her envy, "From kindergarten to university, you've always had a huge fan base supporting you. That feeling of being the center of attention must be great."
Lin Zichen: "Actually, having too many fans can be troublesome at times."
Shen Qinghan disagreed, "You'd only find it troublesome after experiencing it a lot. For someone like me who's never experienced it, being the center of attention like you would definitely feel amazing."
Lin Zichen: "With your Genetic Fusion compatibility as high as 21%, you'll surely have your day in the spotlight too."
"I think so too. I hope that day comes soon."
While speaking, Shen Qinghan felt her hands getting sore, so she stopped her movements, her peach blossom eyes shimmering, and said to Lin Zichen, "You know... I saw a video on your phone where the female lead massages the male lead with her feet. It looked pretty comfortable; do you want to try it?"
"Sure."
Lin Zichen agreed without hesitation.
After all, he was the one being massaged; he just had to lie on the bed with his eyes closed and enjoy, so there was no reason not to try.
Soon, Shen Qinghan awkwardly started to massage Lin Zichen with her feet.
This was her way of making it up to him.
After all, just within that day, she had received 90 credits and nine Qi-Blood pills from Lin Zichen.
If she didn't properly compensate Lin Zichen, she would feel as though she was being kept by him.
She didn't like that kind of unequal relationship.
She preferred a relationship where both sides contribute.
Time passed by every minute and second.
About half an hour later.
Shen Qinghan stopped the massage movements of her feet.
It was mid-September, the weather was hot, and her naturally sweaty physique left her covered in a layer of fine sweat.
Especially her delicate little feet, which were now sticky.
"I've sweated a lot; do you want to go for a bath together?"
Shen Qinghan grabbed some tissues to wipe herself and Lin Zichen clean, then suggested to him.
Hearing this, Lin Zichen sat up from the bed, swept her into his arms, got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom, laughing, "As a return for the massage you just gave me, I'll scrub your back while we bathe."
...
The next day.
Lin Zichen got up early to make breakfast.
It was very simple: a slice of bread, a grilled sausage, an egg, plus a glass of milk.
Before long, Shen Qinghan emerged from the room, bleary-eyed.
After she washed up and ate breakfast, they left the house together, went downstairs, and then went their separate ways.
Upon arriving at the Pure Human Research Institute.
Lin Zichen entered the Living Recreational Area and saw Song Yuyan, as before, doing yoga inside.
"Morning, New King."
As soon as she saw Lin Zichen arrive, Song Yuyan stopped her yoga, sat cross-legged on a mat, and cheerfully greeted him with that title.
Lin Zichen responded with a smile, "Morning, Sister Yan."
"Come on, sit here with Sister Yan, I really want to talk to you," Song Yuyan smiled, patting the spot next to her, beckoning Lin Zichen to sit beside her.
Lin Zichen walked over and sat down.
He knew what Song Yuyan wanted to talk about. It was undoubtedly about the trials from the previous day.
"I heard from the dean that your Biological Level is actually a normal Sixth Order, and you've learned Tempering Flesh as well?"
Song Yuyan asked with bright apricot eyes.
Lin Zichen nodded, "Right."
Hearing his answer, Song Yuyan's face showed disbelief, "My God, Zi Chen, you are too much of a genius, truly. Compared to you, I feel like Capital City's runner-up is just a waste."
Excitement tinged her voice as she continued, "With you joining, the Pureblood Human Path is definitely going to make a splash. We at Tianren Pavilion are going to shock the world and change the public's perception!"
"Alright, let's work hard together," Lin Zichen said, turning his gaze away.
Song Yuyan's outfit had a neckline that was far too low, revealing too much cleavage.
After a few more exchanges.
Soon, Lin Zichen got up and left the Living Recreational Area, heading straight for the Research Area.
He didn't go there to conduct research but to study the text of the Blood Tempering Technique Scripture.
Liu Chuanwu and Song Yuyan had researched it for years without being able to comprehend the contents of the Technique's opening chapter.
Lin Zichen felt that he couldn't rely on them anymore; he had to rely on himself.
Once he learned the text on the Blood Tempering Technique Scripture, he was sure to achieve research results faster than Liu Chuanwu and Song Yuyan ever could.
After all, the effect of the "Biometric Attributes of Heavenly Intelligence" wasn't a joke. It would undoubtedly produce more with less effort in such research tasks.
No, more with less effort was still too conservative.
Boldly put, it would yield a hundred times more with half the effort!
...
PS: There will be one more chapter, around 3 pm.