Evolving infinitely from ground zero

With the promotions from his first two pinch-hitting performances, Lin Zichen's pinch-hitting business was booming.

In the following period,

he received more than ten requests a day for his pinch-hitting services.

At first, he needed to take matters into his own hands and actually beat people up.

Latter on, the bullies would kneel on the spot, scared out of their wits at the mere sight of him pinch-hitting.

They hurried to apologize to their victims, admitting that it was their fault all along.

They assured Lin Zichen that they would never dare to do it again.

And so, for nearly half a month straight,

Lin Zichen's reputation skyrocketed.

Many people began to call him the light of righteousness at school, commending him for rectifying the school's bad elements and restoring a harmonious atmosphere.

There were also a few who badmouthed him, saying he was just a businessman after school credits and that he didn't deserve the accolade "light of righteousness."

Regardless of whether the feedback was positive or negative,

Lin Zichen didn't care in the slightest.

All he cared about were the credits he was making.

...

That day at noon, Li Chuxin came over for a free meal.

After eating, she sat in the living room tallying up business information and reporting the data to Lin Zichen.

In the past half a month,

Lin Zichen had taken on 233 pinch-hitting gigs.

The bullies in these cases ranged from Ordinary Seventh Order at their strongest to Ordinary Third Order at their weakest, with the average being Ordinary Fourth Order.

Overall, none of them were particularly strong.

Furthermore, it was worth noting that a significant portion of these bullies had one thing in common:

they all had a patron in the student council.

"It's exactly the people with mediocre power who love to flex their slight connections to bully others, vividly embodying the saying 'bully the weak and fear the strong,' which is disgustingly on point,"

Li Chuxin couldn't help but curse after finishing her report.

Lin Zichen just laughed without responding.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong was, after all, a basic nature of living beings.

It couldn't be more normal.

"Zi Chen, I've been threatened by quite a few members of the student council recently, some even at the Ordinary Ninth Rank, saying if I keep running this pinch-hitting business, I should watch my back when I go out,"

Li Chuxin said with a look of unease.

Then she added, "Under your management these past few days, bullying has almost vanished from the school."

"Since there aren't many cases left, should we quit while we're ahead and stop the pinch-hitting service?"

"We don't want to make a complete enemy of the student council."

Li Chuxin was frightened by the threats and didn't want to continue the pinch-hitting business.

As lucrative as the business was for earning credits, she was afraid of making money without having the chance to spend it.

Better to retreat in time.

Lin Zichen disagreed, saying, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The people in the student council are just trying to scare you with words."

"If they really dared to take action, they would have done it by now, without bothering with all the talk."

Lin Zichen continued, "But if it really worries you, then don't do it. There's no need to keep yourself on edge all day, letting it affect your life."

Hearing this, Li Chuxin fell into a dilemma.

She was torn over whether to continue.

After several minutes of indecision,

she made up her mind, looked up at Lin Zichen and said,

"Forget it, let's keep going. It was not easy to get the business off the ground, and I don't want to give it up that easily. That would be too much of a pity."

...

Soon, it was 2 p.m.

Lin Zichen left for the institute.

Shen Qinghan and Li Chuxin were on the same route, so they went together to the Evolution College academic building for their classes.

The Genius Class, Evolution Class 1.

As soon as Shen Qinghan entered the classroom, she saw a pig-headed figure in white, carrying a long sword, with long hair flowing behind.

After taking another look, she realized the pig-head was Luo Yongjian.

She couldn't help but ask curiously, "A-Jian, why do you look so beat up?"

Luo Yongjian: "I fell while walking."

Ma Xiwei at the next desk had no intention of sparing his feelings, bluntly exposing him: "This idiot tried to imitate your fiancé and became a pinch-hitter, but ended up getting beaten by people from the student council."

Poor thing...

Shen Qinghan wanted to laugh but dared not, for fear of hurting Luo Yongjian's frail pride.

Pinch-hitting was not something just anyone could do.

You needed real strength for it.

Only my Xiao Chen had the capital to pull it off.

Seeing that Ma Xiwei had spilled the beans, Luo Yongjian dropped the act and started cursing:

"Damn it, this goddamn student council, always beating me up instead of Lin Zichen!"

"Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, what are they good for?"

"Once I've grown stronger, none of them will get away; I'll settle the score with all of them in the fall!"

"Ouch, that hurts so much!"

Luo Yongjian got too worked up speaking and accidentally pulled at a wound on his lip, causing him nearly to cry from the pain.

Ma Xiwei was venomous with her words, ruthlessly pointing out:

"You talk as if you're the only one who can grow. You can get stronger, but so can the people in the student council. Most importantly, your talent isn't much better than theirs, so you probably won't be able to settle any scores in the fall for the rest of your life. Better to give up on that hope."

"You...!"

Luo Yongjian wanted to retort but realized he had no argument.

Because Ma Xiwei was right.

His talent wasn't that much better than the other geniuses, so even if he did grow stronger, he probably wouldn't have the strength to settle scores with the student council.

So how could he get back at the student council?

He couldn't just take this lying down...

Luo Yongjian was lost in thought.

After a few seconds, his eyes suddenly lit up, turning to Ma Xiwei and saying:

"Well, that's easy. I may not be able to get back at the student council, but Lin Zichen can. If it comes to that, I'll just hire Lin Zichen as my pinch-hitter to beat those in the student council."