Evolving infinitely from ground zero

Almost an hour later, the bus arrived at its destination smoothly, and the two got off and headed to the beach.

They arrived at the changing room and changed into the swimsuits they brought along.

Lin Zichen wore only a pair of swim trunks, revealing his well-sculpted, muscular upper body.

Shen Qinghan, as always, was dressed modestly, only exposing a bit of her thighs, embarrassed to reveal too much in a public setting.

“Fewer people over there, let’s go that way,” Lin Zichen said.

“Okay,” Shen Qinghan replied, nodding her head and obediently following Lin Zichen.

Soon, both of them entered the shallow water.

Lin Zichen first had Shen Qinghan test how long she could hold her breath underwater, to see if she could still last over 10 minutes like the last time.

To his surprise, Shen Qinghan’s performance shocked him, holding her breath underwater for 20 minutes.

“Zi Chen, how much?”

“20 minutes and 38 seconds,” he answered.

“Ah, that long?” Shen Qinghan gasped in disbelief, stunned by her own performance.

To her, Lin Zichen said, “Han Han, your swimming skills are so good, it might be related to the fact that you couldn’t hold your pee since you were little. We need to study this matter properly and strive to understand the reason behind it as soon as possible.”

“Yes, I also think it’s related to that,” Shen Qinghan replied, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Lin Zichen was too casual about it, talking so plainly about her inability to hold her pee, which made her feel quite embarrassed.

Though they grew up together and were usually very close, there were still gender differences, and some overly private topics could be awkward to discuss.

In the time that followed, Lin Zichen continuously tested Shen Qinghan’s various underwater abilities.

During the tests, he kept observing the changes in her body.

Unfortunately, her body remained normal, with no special changes occurring.

The only difference was that Shen Qinghan’s underwater abilities had improved since the last time.

This was strange because she had not done any swimming training in the meantime. How could her underwater abilities have improved?

This did not make sense and warranted careful observation and study…

Thinking about this, Lin Zichen looked at Shen Qinghan and said,

“Han Han, let’s go explore the underwater world,” he suggested.

“Okay,” Shen Qinghan nodded.

Not long after they had spoken, the two dived into the water together and walked on the seabed nearly ten meters deep.

During this time, Lin Zichen kept observing Shen Qinghan’s physical condition and found that she felt a bit uncomfortable when she first entered the water but quickly adapted and was able to move freely in the underwater world at nearly ten meters deep.

Her swimming skills were too extraordinary, almost inhuman, resembling more a marine creature than a land animal.

Maybe Xu Meng was right, and Shen Qinghan was made of water…

As Lin Zichen pondered these thoughts,

the previously content Shen Qinghan suddenly changed color, and in a state of panic, she vigorously shook his arm, signaling him that they needed to resurface.

Without hesitating, he immediately surfaced with Shen Qinghan and then quickly swam to the shore.

“Did you hear the voice from last time?” Lin Zichen asked as soon as they got ashore.

Shen Qinghan, looking a bit pale, said, “I heard that strange voice again, this time clearer and louder, like a woman whispering in my ear. It was really creepy.”

“Could you understand what it was saying this time?” Lin Zichen asked.

Shen Qinghan shook her head, “I couldn’t tell, it didn’t seem like a common language of this world. It sounded like chanting, filled with an ancient and profound sense.”

“Chanting?” Lin Zichen furrowed his brow then asked, “Can you replicate that sound for me to hear?”

“No, I don’t think the human vocal cords can produce that kind of sound,” Shen Qinghan answered, shaking her head again, and then added, “Zi Chen, let’s go back. I don’t want to stay here anymore. I feel very insecure.”

“Okay, we’re going back,” Lin Zichen said, seeing she was not in a good state, and quickly took her away from the beach.

On the bus,

Shen Qinghan recalled the voice she had heard while in the sea, and couldn’t help but feel scared.

Turning to Lin Zichen with a pleading tone, she said, “Zi Chen, can I not go to the beach anymore? I don’t want to train my swimming skills…”

“Okay, we won’t come here anymore,” Lin Zichen agreed without a second thought.

Shen Qinghan had heard strange voices during her two trips to the sea, which unsettled him as well.

He thought they should avoid the beach from now on; if they needed to train her swimming skills, they could use some clean, private pools.

As for the eerie female voice Shen Qinghan heard in the sea, they would have to wait until they were stronger before attempting to delve deeper into this mystery and understand what was actually happening.

Time flew by swiftly.

Before anyone knew it, more than a month had passed.

Shanhai High School, Class 1 of the first year.

The Mechanical Modification class teacher, Cai Yuanfei, walked in with a stack of test papers and looked at everyone,

“Just like that, we’ve arrived in October and school has been in session for over a month. During this time, we’ve learned quite a bit, and now it’s time to see what you’ve been able to retain.”

“There’s a reward for this test, the first place will get 888 in cash, second place will get 666 in cash, and third place will get 333 in cash.”

“It’s not a lot of money, just a motivator, but I hope everyone takes it seriously and really tests what they’ve learned over the past month. Don’t dismiss it as unimportant.”

After saying this, Cai Yuanfei handed the test papers to the students in the front row to pass back.

“Wow, really? There’s a cash prize just for a little class quiz?”

He Yu, who was sitting below, was very shocked by this.

Li Chuxin said in confusion, “Don’t they have this at high schools in Nanguan?”

He Yu shook his head, “I’ve never heard of that.”

Li Chuxin explained to him, “At our Shanhai High School, the school allocates a certain amount of funds to the teachers every month to motivate students during regular evaluations.”

“Wow, that’s awesome,” He Yu exclaimed in surprise, then couldn’t help but complain, “Nanguan City claims to have a strong education system, but the benefits given to students are not even on par with Shanhai City. So lame!”

Lin Zichen on the side also felt somewhat surprised.

There’s a cash prize?

And the first place is actually 888 yuan?

That’s a generous reward, almost enough to buy half a jin of Ferocious Great Eagle Meat.

“Everyone, quiet down and start working on the test as soon as you get it.”

Seeing that the students were all discussing the cash reward and causing a ruckus in the classroom, Cai Yuanfei immediately controlled the situation.

Soon, the classroom quieted down, and everyone began concentrating on their test papers.

The test was a bit difficult, with many tricky questions covering various knowledge points.

Most students frowned as they worked through it.

Lin Zichen took the test and felt it was quite easy, almost effortless; he seemed to know the answers with just one glance, not having to exert his mind at all.

The only thing worth pondering was the very last part of the final problem.

But even that just took an extra half-minute to think through.

Securing a perfect score of 100 was a matter of having hands to write it down.

That meant the first-place prize of 888 yuan was practically in his hands already.

Over an hour later.

The test was over.

Cai Yuanfei collected the papers to grade them back in the office, aiming to have them done before lunch break.

As soon as he left, the classroom erupted in a chorus of moans the next moment.

“Damn, that test was so hard. They even asked for the energy wavelength of a laser cannon. Why would I remember that, and what use is remembering it anyway?”

“Exactly, the test was way too difficult and obscure.”

“That last problem-solving question was outrageous, asking about the relationship between a recoilless airstream device and atmospheric pressure, and they expected us to calculate the exact figures. With all those decimals, what’s the point in calculating!”

“Sigh, I was hoping to score 90, but now I’d be lucky to pass with 60.”

While everyone else was complaining about how hard the test was,

Wang Shujie got up and walked over to Lu Gang, smiling as he asked, “That test was indeed tough, how do you think you did?”

“Probably a 95,” Lu Gang replied, then turned to Wang Shujie and asked, “What about you?”

Wang Shujie smiled, “Same here, I just didn’t know the last part of the last question, so I think I’ll get around 95 too.”

Hearing these two estimated they scored 95, many students cursed them under their breath for their lack of humility.

With such a tough paper, still scoring so high, did they leave any hope for the others?

Meanwhile, Shen Qinghan was also telling Lin Zichen about her difficulties, “Zi Chen, the test was really hard, I might fail.”

“It’s fine. It was tough for everyone, not just for you. As long as you’re above the average score, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Lin Zichen consoled her gently.

Shen Qinghan thought about it and felt it made sense; her worried expression eased a lot, and she revealed a sweet smile, saying,

“That’s true. I’ve always done pretty well on written exams. I’m sure I’ll be above average.”

PS: Holding out my bowl, asking for monthly and recommendation tickets!