On an island within Shanhai City.

In front of the research base.

As soon as the bus stopped, the supervising teacher from Shanhai High School led the students straight into the base.

Today, nearly five thousand martial arts students from across Shanhai City came here for testing.

Getting in early meant spending less time waiting in line.

Inside the base, Lin Zichen looked around with curiosity in his eyes.

Everywhere he saw, there were precision instruments.

The place was filled with a sense of advanced technology.

“Don’t just stand there gawking. While it’s not crowded yet, hurry and find a testing window to line up,” the teacher urged.

The students quickly scattered, finding the windows with the shortest lines to queue up for their adaptability tests.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan also lined up at a relatively empty window, with He Yu and Li Chuxin behind them.

“Xiao Chen, are those reagents the Flowcloud Jellyfish Gene Reagents used for testing gene fusion adaptability?” Shen Qinghan asked uncertainly, looking at the test tubes filled with blue liquid.

Lin Zichen nodded, “Yeah, those are the Flowcloud Jellyfish Gene Reagents.”

The genes of the Flowcloud Jellyfish, an aberrant beast, had high affinity with human biology and could easily trigger special chemical reactions with human blood.

That’s why it was used as the testing reagent for gene fusion adaptability.

The process was simple: draw fresh blood from the examinee, inject it into the reagent and observe the chemical reaction.

The reaction’s intensity determined the examinee’s compatibility for gene fusion.

Soon, the testing began.

They tested gene fusion adaptability first; mechanical modification would come later.

This arrangement reduced unnecessary testing since most students with good gene fusion results wouldn’t bother testing for mechanical modification.

After all, mechanical modification was too inhuman—most couldn’t accept turning their flesh into metal.

For the majority, if gene fusion was possible, mechanical modification was never an option.

Gene fusion altered genes, yes, but at least one remained made of flesh, not cold steel.

Of course, some students were simply curious and wanted to know their mechanical modification compatibility too.

Such cases were rare and could be ignored.

Unlike gene fusion testing, mechanical modification adaptability tests were far from gentle.

They required implanting a special alloy into the body, causing rejection reactions and immense pain—comparable to childbirth.

* * *

Half an hour later, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan had their blood drawn.

Now, they just needed to wait for the results, which would be available within an hour.

As they chatted while waiting, the early test-takers started receiving their results.

Results could be checked directly on their phones.

Soon, the hall was filled with excited shouts.

“Eight percent! My gene fusion adaptability is eight percent! Haha! Heaven favors me—I can become a Gene Fuser!”

“Only four percent? I knew it… no chance for me.”

“Six percent! Whew! Barely passed!”

Listening to these shouts, Lin Zichen couldn’t help feeling curious about his own adaptability score.

The standards for gene fusion adaptability were as follows:

Six percent—passing.

Eight percent—excellent.

Ten percent—the level of the two top universities: Kyoto University and Shanhai University.

Yes, that Shanhai University in Shanhai City.

Although the city’s education system wasn’t top-tier compared to inland cities, it had one of the best universities in the country.

That was because Shanhai City’s economy was the strongest nationwide.

Both gene fusion and mechanical modification required massive funding.

For example, nurturing a Gene Fuser at Advanced Biological Level could cost billions—tens of billions even.

Thanks to its wealth, Shanhai University became one of the nation’s top two universities.

To enter the Evolution Academy at either university, an adaptability score of at least ten percent was required.

Otherwise, it was hopeless.

That Kyoto genius—the prodigy often featured in the media—had an adaptability of sixteen percent, one of the highest in the country.

Lin Zichen thought that even without gene fusion, his physical strength far surpassed that of the Kyoto prodigy.

So, barring surprises, his adaptability should exceed sixteen percent.

Maybe close to twenty.

Still, that number didn’t matter.

With Survival of the Fittest as his biological attribute, gene fusion wasn’t his path.

Why fuse when he could devour?

There was simply no need.

“Xiao Chen, I’m so nervous,” Shen Qinghan said, trembling and weak in the knees.

At this moment, curiosity was gone—only fear remained.

She feared her adaptability would be too low.

“It’s okay. Feeling nervous is normal,” Lin Zichen said, holding her hands to calm her.

In truth, he was nervous too.

He worried that Shen Qinghan’s low adaptability might keep her out of the top universities, separating them for the first time since kindergarten.

He couldn’t imagine life on campus without her.

Unlike high school, pulling strings to get her in wouldn’t work here—it would only hurt her confidence again.

“Ten percent! Oh my god! I got into one of the top universities!”

Not far away, Li Chuxin jumped up excitedly.

She had always been near the bottom of the class and never dreamed of getting into a top-two university.

“I only got eleven percent?!”

He Yu groaned, disappointed. He had expected at least twelve or even thirteen percent.

Now, scoring only slightly above Li Chuxin made him miserable.

Hearing them, Lin Zichen knew his and Shen Qinghan’s results must be out too.

“Our turn. Check yours,” he told her.

Shen Qinghan shook her head nervously, “I can’t. You check yours first, then help me check mine.”

“Alright.”

He logged into his account on the Southern River Province college entrance portal.

He Yu and Li Chuxin crowded closer, eager to see.

Soon, his result appeared.

Gene Fusion Adaptability: 15%.

“Fifteen percent! That’s incredible! Probably the highest in the province,” Li Chuxin exclaimed in awe.

He Yu nodded, “Fifteen percent, just like I guessed.”

Shen Qinghan smiled brightly, “Xiao Chen, that score will make you the provincial top scorer for sure.”

She was genuinely happy for him.

Unlike them, Lin Zichen wasn’t satisfied.

Only fifteen percent—still lower than the Kyoto genius.

Clearly, physical strength wasn’t the sole factor in determining adaptability; there were other variables at play.

After composing himself, he looked at Shen Qinghan, “Hanhan, it’s your turn.”

“Okay… I’ll go ahead,” she said, her voice trembling.

Li Chuxin reassured her, “Don’t worry, Hanhan. If I got ten percent, you’ll definitely do fine.”

He Yu added, “Yeah, you’re one of the top students in class. You’ll get into one of the top schools, no doubt.”

“I’m confident,” Shen Qinghan said with a nervous smile.

Without a word, Lin Zichen logged into her account and checked the result.

The next second, a completely unexpected number appeared.

Gene Fusion Adaptability: 21%.