In the silent forest.

Lin Zichen stared at the boy lying motionless on the ground, completely unconscious, his face full of surprise.

‘Wasn’t he the one who ran a hundred meters in six seconds? Wasn’t he the one who could lift a 750‑kilogram barbell with one hand? I didn’t even use any real strength—how did he go down in one punch?’

He suspected that the boy lying there had been bragging yesterday and his actual strength wasn’t nearly as impressive.

Otherwise, how could he have passed out from a single hit?

That punch had barely used any power; he’d only meant to make it hurt.

Not wasting time on trivial matters, Lin Zichen quickly crouched and took all twenty‑eight Score Cards from the boy’s body.

“Xiao Chen, he’s not hurt, right?”

“He’s fine, just fainted. I didn’t even use any real force.”

After saying that, Lin Zichen stood up and left with Shen Qinghan.

* * *

In the following days, Lin Zichen continued focusing on training Shen Qinghan’s wilderness survival abilities instead of rushing deeper into the forest.

Three days passed in a blink.

From the outer zone, the two gradually reached the forest’s deeper areas.

During that time, Shen Qinghan’s survival skills improved greatly.

Whether it was finding water, starting a fire by friction, or fighting wild beasts, she grew more and more proficient.

When hunting a wild boar, she even managed to kill it unscathed with just a sharpened bamboo spear and clever tactics, enjoying a fine meal of roast pork afterward.

That afternoon, after collecting all nearby Score Cards, they continued deeper into the forest.

As they neared the deepest area, they ran into He Yu coming out.

At that moment, He Yu had a black eye and torn clothes, looking as if he’d been beaten up.

After asking, they learned that he had been ganged up on by several top students from Changzhou City, who had taken all his Score Cards.

“He Yu, want to come with us?”

Shen Qinghan invited him, thinking that since they were from the same class group, teaming up made sense.

But He Yu declined decisively, “Forget it. Teaming up with Zichen is too easy—no challenge at all. I’ll stay a lone wolf and head back to the outer zone to rob some others.”

Lin Zichen twitched the corner of his mouth.

‘No challenge teaming with me, but robbing weaker candidates is challenging? Talk about bullying the weak.’

After parting with He Yu, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan kept moving deeper into the forest.

The closer they got to the center, the stronger the candidates became.

They were ambushed more than ten times along the way.

Sometimes by lone candidates.

Sometimes by groups.

But without exception, everyone who tried to rob them ended up being robbed themselves.

1** *

Three more days flew by.

It was now the seventh and final day of the combat test.

That morning, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan reached the forest’s deepest part, only to find that all the monsters there had already been slain.

Lin Zichen wasn’t surprised.

He knew that many geniuses had headed straight for those low‑level monsters on the first day, ignoring the Score Cards along the way.

Most likely, by the second day of the exam, all the monsters here had been wiped out.

“Xiao Chen, what a shame. If we’d come earlier, you definitely would’ve gotten the ‘Beast Slayer’ title.”

As she spoke, Shen Qinghan thought that if Lin Zichen hadn’t spent the last few days training her survival skills, no one else would’ve had the chance to kill those beasts.

Lin Zichen, however, didn’t find it a pity.

The place was filled with Safety Officers and cameras. Even if he killed an aberrant beast, he couldn’t devour it, so what was the point?

He’d rather use this chance to train Shen Qinghan properly.

As for the ‘Beast Slayer’ title, he didn’t care at all.

As long as he had enough Score Cards to ensure good grades for both of them, that was enough.

* * *

Soon, the last day of the combat test came to an end.

Led by the Safety Officers, all candidates exited the forest, returned to their entry points and boarded their school buses home.

“That combat test was torture—it’s finally over!”

“Yeah, those seven days were brutal. Once I get home, I’m eating a feast and sleeping for a whole day!”

“Tomorrow’s the adaptability test—the day that decides our future!”

On the bus of Class 1, senior students were chatting noisily, their voices filling the cabin.

Lin Zichen ignored them, wearing earphones and watching news videos on his phone.

Beside him, Shen Qinghan had her own earphones in, listening to music and sleeping on his shoulder.

She hadn’t slept well during the seven days in the forest and exhaustion finally caught up with her.

Just as Lin Zichen was absorbed in his video, someone patted his shoulder from behind.

He took off his earphones and turned around—it was He Yu.

He Yu pointed toward Wang Shujie and Lu Gang sitting nearby, his voice puzzled.

“Something’s off with those two. I saw them kill a monster together deep in the forest. Knowing their personalities, they should be bragging about it right now, not sitting there silently.”

Hearing that, Lin Zichen glanced at them.

Indeed, they looked strange—troubled and distant.

He didn’t think much of it, assuming they’d been demoralized after being beaten by geniuses from other schools.

* * *

Two hours later, the bus arrived back at Shanhai High School.

As soon as it stopped, Wang Shujie and Lu Gang, who were sitting in the back, hurried off faster than anyone else, looking quite suspicious.

Lin Zichen found it odd but didn’t dwell on it. Soon after, he and Shen Qinghan got off and headed home.

After seven days in the wild with only two baths, both felt grimy and uncomfortable. They just wanted a long, thorough shower.

“Xiao Chen, tomorrow’s the adaptability test for Gene Fusion and Mechanical Modification. Just thinking about it makes me nervous. I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

On the way home, Shen Qinghan’s voice trembled with anxiety.

For once, Lin Zichen didn’t think her nerves were unjustified.

The adaptability test was the most important part of the entire college exam—it determined each student’s future potential. Not being nervous would be strange.

The written test, physical test and combat assessment combined weren’t even a tenth as important.

Passing those just meant you could enter college.

But which college you entered and whether you could become a Gene Fuser or Cyborg, all depended on tomorrow’s adaptability test.

Normally, the stronger a person’s physical fitness, the higher their compatibility with Gene Fusion and Mechanical Modification.

So most students with high adaptability were already top students.

In other words, it was nearly impossible for low‑performing students to turn things around through this test.

‘My physical stats are absurdly high now. I wonder what kind of result I’ll get tomorrow…’

Lin Zichen was filled with curiosity.