Evolving infinitely from ground zero

Nanjiang Provincial Military Region Headquarters.

An office.

Yuan Dongzhi and a short-haired female officer were sitting on the same side, sipping ginseng tea while watching the surveillance footage in front of them.

The content of the footage was the assessment that Lin Zichen and others were undertaking to enter the camp.

The first challenge: machine gun strafing.

All four teams passed smoothly.

Team A was the fastest.

Team B came next.

Team C was third.

Lin Zichen's Team D was the slowest.

The second challenge: rock-paper-scissors to open the door.

All four teams passed as well.

Team B was the quickest, thanks to a genius from the Machine God Corporation who directly hacked into the rock-paper-scissors system and opened the door in a second.

Team A came next, with a military genius who had fused with the "Advanced Giant Strength Ant' gene, forcibly breaking through the door after some effort.

Team C was third, with a lucky player that frustrated others, winning more and losing less at rock-paper-scissors, managing to succeed by persistently guessing.

Team D was the slowest by a lot, taking a very long time to try and figure out the virtual character's rock-paper-scissors patterns, failing to do so, and eventually relying on Lin Zichen to use a piece of glass to pass the challenge.

"Dongzhi, that handsome young man in Team D seems to be your student from Shan University, right?"

Having watched the performance of the four teams in the first two challenges, the female officer took a sip of ginseng tea and turned to ask Yuan Dongzhi.

Yuan Dongzhi: "Correct."

The female officer praised, "That handsome young man has good observational skills and is very flexible in thinking, knowing to use glass to pass."

Yuan Dongzhi: "I've glanced at his student profile before. His academic scores have been outstanding since childhood, and his brain is definitely smarter than his peers."

The female officer: "Having brains is not enough, the third challenge requires very high strength. Team D, where that handsome young man is, has weaker overall strength. I fear it will be difficult for them."

Yuan Dongzhi: "The robots you placed in this third challenge are as strong as the common peak of the eighth rank, not only will it be hard for Team D, but teams A, B, and C are most likely to be wiped out too. It seems like you never intended for them to pass at all."

The female officer smiled: "These 20-year-olds are all full of youthful vigor. If you don't blunt their sharpness at the start, it won't be easy to carry out special training with them later on."

"That's true."

Yuan Dongzhi agreed, then asked, "Recently, a large number of exotic plants and beasts have appeared in Shanhai City. Has the military sent someone to investigate? Have they found anything?"

The female officer: "Regarding the exotic plants, we have confirmed that it's the doing of the Divine Plant Cult."

"As for the exotic beasts, we haven't figured out the cause yet."

"We suspect that a new biological channel has emerged in Shanhai City, but we have searched for a long time without finding this so-called new channel, it remains uncertain."

New biological channel?

Yuan Dongzhi slightly furrowed her brows, lost in thought.

Just then, the surveillance screen in front of them delivered three "pieces of good news" in quick succession.

Teams A, B, and C all failed to pass.

The geniuses in these three teams were brutally defeated by the robots as powerful as the common peak of the eighth rank.

All were beaten bloody and injured severely.

Helplessly, they had to forfeit the challenge to save their lives.

The female officer was a little disappointed, "They forfeited too quickly. The youngsters who came for special training this year are not performing as well as the batch from last year."

Yuan Dongzhi disagreed: "This year's entry assessment is much harder than last year's. Their early forfeit does not mean they are performing worse than last year's geniuses."

"That's true."

After speaking, the female officer added, "Team D has now rested and is entering the third challenge. It's hard to say how long those five youngsters can hold out."

Yuan Dongzhi did not respond, her thoughts preoccupied with the matter of the new channel.

Before she could ponder for long, the female officer interrupted her thoughts with a curious question, "That handsome young man on the team, he wasn't afraid of electricity at all during the second challenge, does he have some special physique?"

"Nothing special."

Yuan Dongzhi continued, "If there's anything special to say about his physique, it's that his physical talents are much stronger than those of his peers. Under the refinement of the Blood Tempering Technique, his bodily strength has been further enhanced, which is why he could withstand the electric current in the second challenge, that's all."

The female officer: "If I remember correctly, the Blood Tempering Technique was developed by your ex-husband, right?"

Yuan Dongzhi: "You remember correctly."

The female officer: "So, this handsome young man is now a member of Tianren Pavilion, following your ex-husband around?"

Yuan Dongzhi: "More or less."

The female officer laughed, "That handsome young man really doesn't know what's good for him. If that Pureblood Human Path had any future, it would have developed and grown by now, rather than declined as it has."

Yuan Dongzhi took a sip of ginseng tea, her expression impassive, and said faintly, "Kids don't understand, they are easily coaxed by that old geezer. After hitting a wall enough times, he'll switch to the Genetic Fusion Path."

She felt that Lin Zichen wouldn't be as stubborn as Song Yuyan, who didn't care about being ridiculed by others and was determined to stick to the Pureblood Human Path.

It was Song Yuyan's obsession to fulfill the wishes of her deceased adoptive parents that enabled her to persist for ten years.

Lin Zichen, on the other hand, had no such obsession.

When he was later surpassed by Li Moyu, Ma Xiwei, Luo Yongjian, and other defeated subordinates who utilized Genetic Fusion, he would certainly switch paths.

"Dongzhi, you should convince that level of talent if you can," said the female officer earnestly. "Get him to give up on the so-called Pureblood Human Path as soon as possible, and switch to the Genetic Fusion Path. Every day he stays in Tianren Pavilion is a waste of his talent."

Yuan Dongzhi: "Geniuses are all stubborn. If you don't let him try the Pureblood Human Path, he will definitely not give up. Only after he has given up will he be willing to switch to the Genetic Fusion Path."

The female officer sighed, "Ah, your ex-husband really does harm. He's been down the Pureblood Human Path for so many years, getting worse as he goes, yet he still shamelessly encourages young geniuses to follow him. It's really not right."

Yuan Dongzhi did not reply, gracefully taking another sip of her ginseng tea.

At that moment, she was slightly displeased.

She did not agree with Liu Chuanwu's ideology but still harbored feelings for her ex-husband.

The female officer, by continuously belittling Liu Chuanwu in front of her, seemed to be offending her.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the surveillance screen.

The sound was so unexpected that both Yuan Dongzhi and the female officer were startled.

Afterward, they both widened their eyes, watching in disbelief as Lin Zichen appeared on the surveillance screen.

What's going on?

A punch that sent a robot with the strength of a common Level 8 peak flying?

What a joke?!

How is that even possible?!

Yuan Dongzhi and the female officer were both dumbfounded, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

A moment later, they came back to their senses.

They looked at each other, said nothing, and immediately jumped out of the window, rushing toward the building where the assessment was taking place.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

On the rooftop.

Teams A, B, and C—who had just failed the assessment—were all on one side receiving medical treatment and complaining to others about how difficult the third stage was.

"Damn it, the robot in the third stage was ridiculously strong. What the hell is the point of such a stage!"

Gao Mu, whose head was wrapped in several layers of bandages, couldn't help but curse.

Sitting beside him, Qin Chuan's face was swollen like a pig's head, several teeth missing, and he spoke with a bit of a whistle, "I wonder how little Sakura is doing. I hope she doesn't end up disfigured like me."

Gao Mu gave a bitter smile, "With her strength, disfiguration would be considered a minor injury. Just hope she doesn't end up like that girl from Shan University, who got her chest caved in by a punch from the robot."

The girl from Shan University he was talking about was none other than Ma Xiwei.

At that moment, Ma Xiwei was in a bad state, part of her left chest concave, both in pain and looking horrendous, crying while receiving treatment from a military doctor, her face covered in tear streaks.

Li Moyu walked over to comfort her, "I don't know what you're crying about, it's not like it can't be restored."

"After the special training ends, you can ask your dad to get you a Phoenix Blood Fruit back at school, and you'll be alright once you eat it."

"If your dad can't get one, I can give you one, no big deal. My family has plenty of those fruits."

Li Moyu continued, "If you think one's not enough, I can give you two. Eat one for healing, and keep one in reserve."

Ma Xiwei couldn't stand his chatter any longer, crying and glaring at him as she retorted, "Can't you just shut up? Stop buzzing around like a mosquito, go away!"

It's like a dog biting Lu Dongbin… Li Moyu muttered to himself, then started rolling away on the ground, saying as he rolled, "Alright, alright, I'm rolling away now, not bothering you anymore."

He didn't roll far, stopping after just a few meters.

"Moyu, I want a Phoenix Blood Fruit too, could you give me one?"

Luo Yongjian stepped forward and asked.

Li Moyu stood up from the ground, dusting off his clothes, and said with disbelief, "Why would I give you a Phoenix Blood Fruit? You're not a pretty girl."

Luo Yongjian's eyebrows raised, and he said with a chuckle, "Don't say that. I'm absolutely stunning when I cross-dress. How about I perform a cross-dressing show for you back at school, and in exchange, you give me a Phoenix Blood Fruit, how does that sound?"

Cross-dressing might damage his cool image, but he was ready to throw caution to the wind, bowing down for the metaphorical five bushels of rice.

Cool image?

What is a cool image compared to evolutionary resources?

Once he became stronger, his cool image would naturally come back.

"That works for me."

Li Moyu agreed without hesitation.

He was keen to broaden his horizons and witness the legendary cross-dresser.

After all, his family was rich and could afford to spend a Phoenix Blood Fruit for a good laugh and a fresh experience.

"By the way, I wonder how Zi Chen's Team D is doing in the combat assessment now."

Luo Yongjian glanced at the clearance display screen on the wall in front of him, and continued, "I feel that with Zi Chen there, Team D might have a chance to clear the stage."

He had full confidence in Lin Zichen.

Because he always felt that Lin Zichen was hiding his true power, which was actually quite astonishing.

Maybe he really could defeat the robot in the third stage and surprise everyone.

"Team D has a chance to clear the stage?"

A Mecha God Group genius, who had lost one mechanical arm, laughed and said, "The third stage is designed to crush our confidence and keep us from being too proud and complacent. There's no way to clear it. If Team D clears it, I'll wash my hair standing on my head for the rest of the special training period."

An injured military genius, limping along, came up and snorted, "Teams A, B, and C, the strongest ones, couldn't clear the stage, and Team D, the weakest, has a chance? What kind of flawed logic is that?"

Luo Yongjian didn't respond, not bothering to explain.

At this juncture, someone curiously said, "We, with greater strength, were so miserably defeated by the robot in the third stage. I wonder how terribly Team D, the weakest team, will fare."

The limping military genius laughed, "I'm so strong I had a leg broken, so it's not too much if every member of Team D breaks both their legs, right?"

"Haha, definitely not too much."

"How is it possible to just break their legs? Their limbs should be completely shattered, seriously."

"Yeah, it might be possible since Team D's strength is laughably weak. We fought in the third stage for nearly half an hour before getting eliminated, and at that time, Team D hadn't even entered the third stage. They're really weak."

At this moment, several of the injured on the rooftop were making light of Team D, their words and tone full of arrogance.

Among them, the limping military genius walked over to the instructor, laughing as he said, "Instructor Lu, can I take a look at the surveillance footage? I'd like to see how Team D is doing now."

His leg was broken by the robot, and he was in a pitiful state, urgently needing to see someone in a worse state to please himself.

"If you want to watch, just sit over there."

With a tablet in hand, intently focusing on the surveillance footage, Instructor Lu Tianrong answered indifferently.

Upon hearing that, the limping military genius immediately walked over to Lu Tianrong, smiling broadly as he was about to sit down next to him.

Just as he was about to sit down next to Lu Tianrong!

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the ground!

"Bang!"

At the moment the sound exploded, everyone on the rooftop felt a strong tremor.

Looking in the direction from where the vibration originated, they saw a smooth metallic skull.

It had a metallic texture.

It looked very familiar.

Upon closer inspection, they realized it was the skull of the same robot that had been on the third stage below.

At this point, the metallic skull stood out like a newly sprouted mushroom among the web of cracks on the ground, conspicuously erect and eye-catching.

...

PS: Bowing for monthly votes and recommendation tickets!