Evolving infinitely from ground zero

Translator: 549690339

Shanhai High School.

In a certain first-year classroom.

Lin Zichen was in class but his mind wasn’t on the lecture; he hadn’t even opened his book, as he was preoccupied with the events of yesterday.

Thinking about the Rat God Cult, he realized it was a safety hazard and decided to be more cautious in the future.

Thinking about the female Mechanically Modified Human’s laser cannon, he acknowledged his own weakness but took solace in his youth. With the attributes of “Survival of the Fittest”, “Heavenly Roots”, and “Stronger with Age” to bolster him, his potential for growth was greater than anyone else’s.

Thinking of the Phantom Squid Meat catalogue, he pondered how to make money to fill up the progress bar, and then unlock the catalogue to acquire some of the Phantom Squid’s abilities.

School scholarships?

Prize money from various student competitions?

What else?

Were there any other sources of income?

The price of Phantom Squid Meat was too high; with such meager annual earnings, how many years would it take to fill up the progress bar?

He had to find a way to increase his income.

Become a famous scholastic online personality?

No, that was too flashy.

What about a technical side hustle?

That didn’t seem feasible either, as his schedule was already packed with studying and training, leaving no spare time.

Was there a side hustle that could make money without interfering with his studies and training?

Forget it, he thought, ‘three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang the mastermind.’ Better to consult with his well-informed online friends.

With that thought, Lin Zichen took out his phone and posted a message on a forum.

[Seeking advice: how can a middle-school student quickly earn 100,000 yuan without impacting their studies?]

Perhaps due to the outrageous nature of the title, his post quickly garnered a flurry of enthusiastic responses.

First comment: You can have anything in your dreams.

Second comment: I suggest you study criminal law.

Third comment: You can join the school Martial Arts Team and compete in matches. I have a friend who earned nearly 300,000 yuan in prizes over the course of middle and high school—I’m so jealous.

300,000 yuan in prize money?

That much?

Lin Zichen was a bit surprised and quickly exited the forum to look up information about martial arts competitions on his browser.

He focused on local competitions in Shanhai City.

After a brief search, he learned that during school vacations, the city hosted various sizes of martial arts exchanges, targeting middle and high school students.

He checked specific competition details and found the forum user was not boasting—the prizes were indeed quite substantial.

There was a nine-school junior high competition in the city with a first-place prize of 50,000 yuan for the winning school.

It meant a division of money here and there, but core team members could still pocket at least several thousand yuan.

For a middle schooler, that was a lot of money.

Moreover, the competition was not long-lasting, ranging from three days to a week at most.

Earning several thousand yuan in just a few days was akin to hauling money in a burlap sack.

Most importantly, practicing martial arts would strengthen his body and allow him to make money and evolve simultaneously.

“The school happens to have a Martial Arts Team; I’ll go check it out after school,” Lin Zichen thought to himself.

Before long.

The end-of-class bell rang, and the morning classes finally came to an end.

Once the class was over, the students quickly left the classroom to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

Some who lived close by went home to eat.

Others enrolled in nearby day-care classes went there for their meal.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan were an exception. Both brought their meals from home and simply needed to heat them up in the microwave in the teachers’ office.

That was one of the privileges Lin Zichen had earned in exchange for winning numerous honors for the school.

Shen Qinghan, as his closest childhood friend, was fortunately able to share this privilege with him.

“Zi Chen, try this; it’s super delicious.”

Shen Qinghan placed a piece of rolled omelet into Lin Zichen’s lunch box, looking perfectly natural, clearly not dwelling on the embarrassing incident in the car yesterday.

Lin Zichen tried the omelet and nodded, “It is really good.”

“Can you guess who made it?”

“Do you want me to guess?”

“Stop playing word games, just take a guess!”

“You made it.”

“Correct!” Shen Qinghan’s smile blossomed like a flower.

She then propped her face with one hand and looked at Lin Zichen with shining eyes, saying:

“Zi Chen, I’ve started learning to cook with my mom. How about I cook for you every day from now on?”

“Sure,” Lin Zichen said with a smile.

Soon, they finished their meals.

Translation:

When he went out to wash his lunchbox, Lin Zichen encountered the coach of the Martial Arts Team in the corridor outside the classroom.

“Zi Chen, what a coincidence?”

Upon seeing Lin Zichen, Guo Xiangyuan immediately walked over with a smile on his face to strike up a conversation.

He had deliberately waited in the corridor for a long time and finally saw Lin Zichen come out after finishing his meal.

The reason he had gone to such lengths to stage a chance meeting was to avoid seeming too abrupt like he did yesterday, which might give Lin Zichen a poor impression.

For a sports talent like Lin Zichen, he believed he needed to take the initiative, recruiting Lin Zichen into the Martial Arts Team as soon as possible, not wasting even a single day of martial arts training.

Every wasted day was a travesty that deserved to be struck by lightning.

“Coach Guo, I was actually looking for you.”

Originally, Lin Zichen planned to visit the gym after school to learn more about the Martial Arts Team, but since he had bumped into Guo Xiangyuan now, he might as well take this opportunity to understand the matters regarding the team.

Upon hearing this, Guo Xiangyuan first looked a little astounded, then said excitedly,

“Are you interested in learning about the Martial Arts Team?”

“Yes.”

Lin Zichen nodded.

Hearing this, Guo Xiangyuan immediately walked up with an enthusiastic face and said cheerfully,

“Feel free to ask any questions, and I will answer all of them to the best of my knowledge.”

So, in the following period, Lin Zichen asked a series of questions.

About martial arts competitions in the city.

About how the competition prizes were.

About the strength of the Martial Arts Teams from various schools, and so on.

Guo Xiangyuan patiently answered all these questions for him.

Shen Qinghan, who was nearby, saw that the two seemed likely to talk for a while, quietly took Lin Zichen’s lunchbox away to wash, and didn’t interrupt them.

About half an hour later.

The two in the corridor finished their conversation.

Lin Zichen verbally agreed to join the Martial Arts Team, saying that he would visit room C of the gym after school.

Afterward, he turned and went back into the classroom.

It was now the lunch break, and the classroom was mostly empty.

At a glance, there were only about a dozen students who weren’t napping and were studying hard instead.

The diligent and studious Shen Qinghan was one of them.

Lin Zichen sat down at his own desk, put on his earphones, and started searching on his phone for a bunch of videos about martial arts competitions to understand the process.

Next to him, Shen Qinghan was hunched over a set of papers, her brows occasionally furrowing and then relaxing.

About half an hour later.

Shen Qinghan finally finished the set of papers.

She neatly packed away the papers with a sense of accomplishment and turned to pat Lin Zichen on the shoulder, wanting to chat with him.

Lin Zichen took off his earphones and looked at her, asking,

“Finished with the papers?”

“All done.”

“Not bad, you finished in less than an hour this time, showing progress.”

“Of course, although I’m not as smart as you, Xiao Chen, I’m still quite smart.”

Shen Qinghan was a bit smug.

Then, she curiously asked Lin Zichen,

“By the way, Xiao Chen, are you going to join the school’s Martial Arts Team?”

“Hmm, I’ve verbally joined already.”

“So, does that mean I can watch you compete in the future?”

“You should be able to.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghan’s face lit up with a smile, her beautiful eyes curving as she said, “Then I’ll be your little fan, cheering and shouting for you in the stands every day, alright?”

“Sure.” Lin Zichen smiled and said.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Shen Qinghan yawned hugely, looking sleepy.

Seeing this, Lin Zichen brought over a chair from the lectern, combining it with the chair Shen Qinghan was sitting on, and then he said to her,

“There’s still more than half an hour left of the lunch break, take a nap if you’re sleepy.”

“Mm, I’ll take a nap, then. Remember to wake me up when it’s almost time.”

After speaking, Shen Qinghan curled up like a little kitten on the two chairs joined together, resting her head on Lin Zichen’s leg and quickly falling asleep.

Lin Zichen fetched a small blanket to cover her.

Then he put on his earphones and continued to watch martial arts competition videos on his phone.

Not sure if it was dreaming or something else, barely awake for long, Shen Qinghan’s cherry lips moved slightly, and she muttered softly,

“Xiao Chen…”

“I’ve worked hard and got admitted to Shanhai High School’s senior high…”

“We’re still desk mates…”

PS: Holding out a begging bowl, ask for monthly and recommendation tickets!