At night, after finishing dinner and taking a shower, Lin Zichen lay on his bed scrolling through news on his phone.

Around nine o’clock, Shen Qinghan, who lived next door, came over in her pajamas, holding a fruit-brand tablet as she walked into his room, “This tablet is for you. My mom bought it especially for you.”

Shen Qinghan handed the tablet to Lin Zichen.

Lin Zichen looked puzzled, “Why would Aunt Meng suddenly give me this?”

Shen Qinghan said, “Before the combat assessment, didn’t my mom say she’d buy us the latest fruit phones? Later, she thought tablets would be more convenient for studying, so she changed her mind.”

Hearing that, Lin Zichen remembered.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Xu Meng on WeChat, saying he liked the tablet and thanking Aunt Meng.

While he was chatting with Xu Meng, Shen Qinghan took off her slippers, revealing her delicate, fair feet and nimbly climbed onto his bed.

She sat cross-legged, her pretty face slightly flushed and said softly, “Xiao Chen, can I sleep here tonight?”

“Huh?”

Lin Zichen thought he misheard and looked up at her in surprise.

Shen Qinghan explained, “Tomorrow’s the compatibility test. If I sleep alone, I’ll keep thinking about it and won’t be able to fall asleep. But if I sleep with you, I’ll have someone to talk to and won’t overthink it.”

After saying that, she looked into Lin Zichen’s eyes and asked again, “Is that okay?”

“If you want to, of course it’s okay,” Lin Zichen replied.

After all, it wasn’t like they hadn’t slept together before.

When they were little, they often slept together.

Even during the seven days of the last combat assessment, they shared a bed.

“Then I’ll tell my mom I’m not going home tonight.”

Shen Qinghan took out her phone and told Xu Meng on WeChat that she’d be sleeping at Lin Zichen’s place.

She knew Xu Meng wouldn’t mind.

As expected, Xu Meng had no objections. She even offered to bring over a toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, diapers and the clothes Shen Qinghan would wear the next day.

But she didn’t need them.

She’d already brought her daily essentials with her.

The two sat together, using the new tablet to read the news.

They chatted as they scrolled, discussing what they saw.

Among the news stories were many about the Evolution Conservatives.

These were the people who opposed gene fusion, believing that humans could evolve into Advanced Beings, Rare Beings or even Epic Beings purely through their own potential.

During the college entrance exam season, the Conservatives were very active, frequently appearing in media reports, extending offers to gifted students.

They claimed to have unique body-tempering techniques that could help humans transcend the frailty of flesh and achieve strength rivaling that of Gene Fusers and Cyborgs.

However, those methods could only be practiced by pure-blooded humans with intact bodies.

Thus, they sought talented individuals to practice these techniques and prove to the world that humanity could evolve through natural potential alone.

Their claims quickly drew backlash.

Critics accused them of leading geniuses astray by persuading them to abandon gene fusion and mechanical modification for unreliable body-tempering methods.

“Xiao Chen, do you think humans can really evolve into higher beings purely through potential?” Shen Qinghan asked after reading the report.

Her personal opinion was no.

If humanity truly had that potential, someone would’ve already achieved it by now.

But so far, not one case existed.

Aside from Gene Fusers and Cyborgs, the strongest known humans only reached Biological Level 9.

They were powerful, with stats nearly matching Advanced Beings, yet could never break that final barrier to evolve.

“I think humans can evolve through their own potential,” Lin Zichen said without hesitation.

His certainty made Shen Qinghan curious, “Why do you think that?”

“I just think that if aberrant beasts exist in this world, then there must also be aberrant humans. That makes the world feel more balanced.”

He added, “When I say aberrant humans, I mean those who can evolve solely through their own potential.”

“That makes sense,” Shen Qinghan nodded thoughtfully, “If there are aberrant beasts, there should be aberrant humans. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. But where are they? These aberrant beasts have been around for a long time—why hasn’t a single aberrant human appeared yet?”

She couldn’t figure it out. It just didn’t seem reasonable.

Suddenly, she turned to Lin Zichen, “Xiao Chen, you’re not one of them, are you?”

Lin Zichen denied it, “You’re overthinking it. I’m definitely not.”

‘I’m a cheater—how could an aberrant human compare to me?’

* * *

The next morning, as dawn broke, Lin Zichen woke up and immediately lifted the blanket to check the bed.

Fortunately, it was dry.

Shen Qinghan hadn’t wet the bed, or maybe she’d worn a diaper.

He couldn’t help it; she’d traumatized him as a kid.

Every time she slept without diapers, he ended up soaked. It left a psychological shadow.

Half an hour later, Shen Qinghan also woke up.

After washing up and eating breakfast, they headed to school together.

The compatibility tests for Shanhai City’s students were being held at a research base on an offshore island.

Students had to take the school’s bus to get there.

Within ten minutes, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan arrived at school.

The playground was already crowded with students waiting for the buses.

Soon, the buses arrived.

Everyone boarded and set off for the research base.

On the bus, Lin Zichen thought about Wang Shujie and Lu Gang’s strange behavior yesterday. He glanced at them from the corner of his eye.

Both looked drained, lacking their usual energy.

‘What happened to them?’