Evolving infinitely from ground zero

After the meal.

Lin Zichen took out the 10 pounds of Undead Slug Meat from the refrigerator, and without avoiding Shen Qinghan, he decided to devour it right in front of her.

[You have absorbed a large amount of life essence from the "Living Dead Slugs"]

[Living Dead Slug Album: 10%]

After devouring the meat, Lin Zichen packed up the now useless Undead Slug Meat in a trash bag, planning to take it downstairs and throw it away later.

"Xiao Chen, why are you using a trash bag for the Undead Slug Meat?"

Shen Qinghan asked with a puzzled expression.

In her eyes, all Lin Zichen did was take the slug meat out of the refrigerator, touched the meat inside with his finger, and then put it in a trash bag, which looked very strange.

Lin Zichen explained, "These pieces of Undead Slug Meat have gone bad and need to be thrown away."

"Gone bad?" Shen Qinghan was a bit confused. "But when I signed for the delivery, it looked very fresh."

Lin Zichen said, "It was fresh when you signed for it, but just now, I've absorbed all the essence from the meat, and it will spoil very quickly."

"Absorbed the essence from the meat?"

Shen Qinghan was somewhat puzzled and after thinking for a moment, asked, "Is this your superpower?"

Lin Zichen nodded, "Yes, this is my superpower. I can absorb the essence from the Exotic Beast Meat with a mere thought, thus gaining some of the abilities of the related Exotic Beasts."

He no longer hid it and openly shared the secret of his ability to devour Exotic Beast Meat with Shen Qinghan.

They were living together after all, and over time, frequent devouring would unquestionably raise her suspicions, so it was better to tell her proactively.

Since they were in a relationship that would lead to marriage after graduation, it made sense to share secrets. There was nothing to hide.

"Absorbing the essence of Exotic Beast Meat and gaining the abilities of the associated Exotic Beasts?"

Shen Qinghan was shocked, her cherry-like mouth opened instinctively, her face filled with disbelief.

After a moment, she regained her composure and realized, "No wonder you don't follow the Genetic Fusion Path, but instead the Pureblood Human Path. With this superpower, you don't need Genetic Fusion at all."

After speaking, her mood dipped slightly as she said, "I thought that because my suitability for Genetic Fusion was as high as 21%, I would eventually become as strong as you, and we would be known as the unparalleled duo, talked about by everyone. Now it seems, I thought too much."

Lin Zichen smiled and said, "The two words 'husband and wife' carry much more weight than the four words 'unparalleled duo,' don't they?"

Shen Qinghan pouted somewhat petulantly, "But I just want to be the 'unparalleled duo' with you!"

"We will be known as the 'unparalleled duo.'

Lin Zichen comforted her with a gentle voice, "You still have an unknown superpower within you. Once it's developed in the future, you might even become stronger than me."

"That seems possible, too."

Shen Qinghan blinked her clear eyes.

She said this out loud; however, in her heart, she didn't believe it at all.

Lin Zichen's superpower was too formidable, so much so that it seemed absurd. She doubted there could be any other superpower in the world more incredible than his.

She knew very well she would never be able to match Lin Zichen as the 'unparalleled duo' in her lifetime.

Her only extravagant hope was not to be left too far behind by Lin Zichen in the future and not to become a burden on his journey, but rather to provide him support.

Yes, that would be enough.

While she mulled over these thoughts, Shen Qinghan belatedly realized something.

Xiao Chen actually wanted to share such an important secret with me?

Does this mean that I am the most important person in his heart?

That must be it, without a doubt!

With this thought, Shen Qinghan's mood instantly improved, casting her regret about not being part of the 'unparalleled duo' out of her mind.

...

At 2:45 p.m.

Lin Zichen did not go to the research institute but accompanied Shen Qinghan to the gymnasium to watch the showdown between the 8th and 9th ranks on the peak leaderboard.

Many people came to watch the match, including teachers, students, and individuals from the Mech God Corporation.

The Mech God Corporation is now the largest partner of the Mechanical Academy at Shanhai University, providing 80% of the various alloy equipment used in the academy.

The Mech God Corporation had two objectives in generously supporting the Mechanical Academy.

First, to promote mechanical modification, to prove that mechanical modification is not weaker than Genetic Fusion, and perhaps even stronger because mechanical modification has broader applicability. There are far more people suitable for mechanical modification than for Genetic Fusion.

Second, to expand the corporation's influence; one of the conditions for the partnership was that Shanhai University's Mechanical Academy would send graduates to the Mech God Corporation every year.

In summary, the Mech God Corporation wanted to increase its own influence.

"Xiao Chen, look at the second-floor corridor, that mechanical genius girl we often see online is up there now," Shen Qinghan poked Lin Zichen, signaling him to look upstairs.

Lin Zichen had already spotted her.

On the second-floor corridor, the Mech God Corporation's representatives were with the leaders of the Mechanical Academy.

The genius girl from the Mech God Corporation, whose body was more than half alloy, was very conspicuous.

"Xiao Chen, who do you think would be more powerful if the genius from the Capital and that mechanical genius girl upstairs were to fight?" Shen Qinghan curiously asked.

The term 'unparalleled duo' was first heard by her from the marketing surrounding the genius from the Capital and the mechanical genius girl, and she was always intrigued about who would be stronger between the two top talents from different fields.

Lin Zichen was equally curious about the question.

However, despite years of marketing hype, the genius from the Capital and the mechanical genius girl had never clashed.

Because they both knew that competing would bring no benefits, only drawbacks.

As long as they never faced off and never made it clear who was superior, the topic would continue.

This was good for both parties.

"I think, to have an approximation of who between the genius from the Capital and the mechanical genius girl is more formidable, we just need to see who wins in the upcoming match, and then we can make a somewhat rough judgment," Lin Zichen said.

"If the 9th ranked mechanical being wins, it would mean the mechanical genius girl is more impressive."

"And if the 8th ranked evolutionary being wins, it would be the genius from the capital university that is superior,"

Lin Zichen analyzed logically.

The mechanical being ranked 9th has enhancements from the Mechanical God Corporation, which well reflects the strength of the corporation.

If this 9th ranked mechanical being could win against the 8th ranked evolutionary being, it would suggest that mechanical enhancements are stronger than genetic fusion.

To some extent, this could indicate that the mechanical genius girl is stronger than the genius from the capital university.

Of course, these are all speculations and not necessarily accurate.

...

Soon, the time reached 3 P.M.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the two contenders stepped onto the stage.

The 8th ranked evolutionary being was a young man with a pair of ox horns on his head.

The 9th ranked mechanical being was a young man covered in a mechanical exoskeleton.

The moment the two stepped onto the stage,

high-strength transparent glass walls rose around the Martial Stage to protect the audience from incidental harm from the competitors' actions.

For mechanical beings, combat might involve widespread artillery bombardment and bullets flying everywhere.

If there wasn't a glass wall enclosure, the audience seats might be littered with casualties before the contest even ended.

For the same reason, there were no referees on the Martial Stage.

"Begin the duel!"

At the broadcast command, the two on the Martial Stage clashed in an instant.

In an instant, the Martial Stage was a scene of relentless gunfire, massive sounds of hot weapons firing filled the air, turning it into a place of thick smoke and low visibility.

Fortunately, Lin Zichen possessed the biometric attribute "Eyes of the Sky," which allowed him to see far beyond the average person.

Even with the stage filled with smoke, he could clearly make out the battle's situation.

Right from the start, the mechanical being used an anti-airflow propulsion device to take to the skies, raining down firepower on the evolutionary being below.

The evolutionary being, unable to reach the mechanical being, protected his head and curled up on the Martial Stage, enduring the barrage of hot weapons fired from above.

Soon, the evolutionary being's body was riddled with bullet holes, many parts blasted away.

But he didn't die, he was just bloodied and weak.

After expending all his ammunition, the mechanical being landed on the ground, switching to close combat mode, engaging the severely injured evolutionary being in a fistfight.

The close combat lasted for a few minutes.

In the end, the evolutionary being lay on the Martial Stage, barely clinging to life.

Meanwhile, the mechanical being only had some cracks on his exoskeleton, which still looked intact.

When the result of this duel emerged, a wave of discussion immediately erupted among the spectators.

"In the past, Evolution College could dominate Mechanical Academy in combat, but ever since the Mechanical God Corporation collaborated with Mechanical Academy, the situation has been turned on its head."

"Yeah, mechanical technology is too powerful. If it weren't for the need to give up the flesh in mechanical modification, I'd want to become a mechanically modified human."

"After today's battle, it feels like the power hierarchy among the colleges is about to change."

"Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you say. Mechanically modified humans only have an early advantage, relying on lower-level genetic integrators who can't fly, gaining the upper hand through aerial attacks."

"Indeed, once biological levels are high enough, many genetic integrators gain the ability to fly. At that realm, mechanically modified humans will, in turn, find themselves at a disadvantage."

"That's only if the biological level is high enough. For us ordinary people, our biological level in this lifetime will at most be in the advanced category. Discussing beyond that is meaningless."

"Yeah, even just at the university stage, I feel like Mechanical Academy is really going to turn things around."

Everyone was surprised that the 9th ranked mechanical being won so easily, basically treating the 8th ranked evolutionary being like a punching bag the entire time.

It just goes to show that the Mechanical God Corporation, this colossal entity, is incredibly powerful, able to exponentially increase a person's strength with mechanical technology.

Lin Zichen listened to everyone's discussion for a while.

He wasn't the least bit concerned about which college would be more formidable in the future.

What he cared about was only one thing, how many college credits he could earn from being in the top 10 of the peak list each month?

Thinking this, he searched for related information on the school's app and soon learned the answer.

First place, 1,000 credits per month.

Second place, 900 credits per month.

Third place, 800 credits per month.

And so on, until the tenth place, which earns 100 credits per month.

Beyond the credit rewards, he also saw information about the rules for challenging the peak list.

1. New students must complete the competition for new students next semester before attempting to challenge the peak list.

2. There is only one opportunity each week to challenge the peak list, and when doing so, you cannot challenge an opponent ranked more than 50 places above you.

With only one opportunity each week to challenge the list, and not being able to target anyone more than 50 places higher,

the peak list has a total of 500 places.

This means that counting from after completing the competition for new students next semester, it would take at least 10 weeks to reach the top at the fastest.

And considering that the competition for new students occurs in the middle of next semester, reaching the top of the peak list would be close to the end of the first academic year's second term.

"Feels a bit too long,"

Lin Zichen muttered to himself.

...

PS: Setting out the bowl, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!