After nearly an hour, the bus arrived at the destination and the two got off and headed for the beach.

They went into the changing rooms and changed into swimsuits.

Lin Zichen wore only swim trunks, revealing his sculpted upper body muscles.

Shen Qinghan, as always, dressed conservatively, showing only a bit of thigh, embarrassed to reveal too much in public.

“Let’s go where there are fewer people.”

“Okay.”

Shen Qinghan nodded and obediently followed Lin Zichen.

Soon, the two entered the shallow waters.

Lin Zichen first had Shen Qinghan test her breath-holding underwater to see if she could still hold for over 10 minutes like last time.

To his surprise, Shen Qinghan held her breath for 20 minutes underwater.

“Xiao Chen, how long?”

“20 minutes, 38 seconds.”

“Ah, that long?”

Shen Qinghan subconsciously opened her small mouth, shocked at her own performance.

Lin Zichen told her, “Hanhan, your swimming ability might be connected to your childhood incontinence. We need to research this carefully and figure it out.”

“Mm, I think so too.” Shen Qinghan’s cheeks flushed slightly.

Lin Zichen was too casual, openly talking about her incontinence as if it was nothing. It made her feel embarrassed.

Though they grew up together and were close, there was still a line between boys and girls and such private topics were awkward.

In the time that followed, Lin Zichen tested various underwater abilities of Shen Qinghan.

Throughout the tests, he closely observed her body’s condition.

Unfortunately, her body remained normal, showing no special changes.

The only difference was that her underwater capabilities were even better than last time.

‘This was strange. She hadn’t trained in the water recently, so how had her abilities improved? It made no sense.’

He had to keep watching and studying…

Thinking this, Lin Zichen said, “Hanhan, let’s dive and explore the underwater world.”

“Okay.”

Shen Qinghan nodded.

Not long after, the two dove down together, strolling along the seafloor about ten meters deep.

Lin Zichen continued to monitor her condition and saw that though she was a little uncomfortable at first, she quickly adapted and moved freely underwater.

Her water affinity was so extreme it didn’t seem like she was a land creature, but rather aquatic.

Maybe Xu Meng was right—Shen Qinghan was made of water…

Just as Lin Zichen was thinking this, Shen Qinghan’s face suddenly changed dramatically. She panicked and shook his arm hard, signaling that she wanted to surface.

He didn’t hesitate and quickly rose with her to the surface, then swam to shore.

“Did you hear that sound again like last time?”

Once ashore, Lin Zichen immediately asked.

Shen Qinghan’s face was pale, “I heard that strange sound again, this time louder and clearer, like a woman whispering right in my ear. It was creepy.”

“Could you understand what it said?” Lin Zichen asked.

Shen Qinghan shook her head, “No, it didn’t sound like any language from this world. It was like chanting, filled with an ancient and heavy aura.”

“Chanting?” Lin Zichen frowned and asked, “Can you mimic the sound for me?”

“No, I don’t think human vocal cords can produce it.” She shook her head, then said, “Xiao Chen, let’s go back. I don’t feel safe here.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Seeing her so shaken, Lin Zichen quickly took her away from the beach.

* * *

On the bus.

Remembering the sound in the sea, Shen Qinghan couldn’t help but shiver.

She looked at Lin Zichen, her voice pleading, “Xiao Chen, can I stop coming to the seaside? I don’t want to train swimming anymore…”

“Okay, we won’t come again.” Lin Zichen agreed without hesitation.

Shen Qinghan had heard the strange sound twice now. It made him uneasy too.

He thought it was better not to come to the seaside again. If she needed to train, they could go to a clean private pool instead.

As for the eerie female voice in the sea, they could only wait until they became stronger and investigate it then.

* * *

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had gone by.

Shanhai High School, Class 1 Grade 10.

The Mechanical Modification teacher, Cai Yuanfei, walked in with a stack of test papers and addressed the students.

“October is here already. It’s been over a month since school started. We’ve learned a lot of knowledge in that time and now it’s time to test your progress.”

“For this exam, I’ve set up rewards: first place will get 888 yuan, second place 666 yuan and third place 333 yuan. It’s not much, just encouragement, but I hope you’ll take it seriously and see how well you’ve learned this past month.”

He then handed the papers to the front row to be passed back.

“So generous? Just a small in-class test has cash prizes?”

He Yu was shocked.

Li Chuxin asked curiously, “Don’t high schools in Nanguan have this?”

He Yu shook his head, “Never heard of it.”

Li Chuxin explained, “At Shanhai Middle School, every month the teachers are given funds to use as incentives during tests.”

“What, really? That’s amazing.” He Yu was first surprised, then muttered, “Nanguan City calls itself an education powerhouse, but the benefits for students are worse than Shanhai’s. Pathetic.”

Lin Zichen was also surprised.

Cash prizes?

And first place was 888 yuan?

That was generous, almost enough to buy half a jin of Violent Eagle meat.

“Quiet down everyone. Start once you have the paper.”

Seeing the class buzzing, Cai Yuanfei quickly calmed them.

The room quieted as everyone began.

The exam was difficult, full of tricky questions.

Most students frowned deeply as they worked.

Lin Zichen found it easy, answering almost everything instantly without thought.

Only the final sub-question of the last problem required some effort.

But it only cost him half a minute more.

Getting a perfect score of 100 was as simple as lifting a hand.

That 888 yuan prize was already his.

* * *

Over an hour later.

The exam ended.

Cai Yuanfei collected the papers and left for his office to grade them before lunch.

As soon as he left, the classroom filled with groans.

“Damn, why was it so hard? It even asked the wavelength of a laser cannon’s energy beam. Who memorizes that?”

“Yeah, it was way too difficult and obscure.”

“That final problem was ridiculous, asking about the relationship between a reverse-thrust airflow device and atmospheric pressure and even wanting exact values. With all those decimals, how are we supposed to calculate that?”

“Ugh, I was hoping for 90, but now I’ll be lucky to scrape 60 and pass.”

“….”

While everyone complained, Wang Shujie walked to Lu Gang and asked with a smile, “That paper was tough. How’d you do?”

“Probably 95. Just couldn’t solve the final sub-question.” Lu Gang replied, then asked, “And you?”

Wang Shujie smiled, “Same here, only missed the last sub-question. I’ll probably get 95 too.”

Hearing this, many students cursed them under their breath.

Such a tough test, yet they could still score that high? Unfair.

Meanwhile, Shen Qinghan told Lin Zichen, “Xiao Chen, it was too hard. I might fail.”

“It’s okay. It was hard for everyone, not just you. As long as you’re above average, you’ll be fine.” Lin Zichen comforted her.

Thinking it over, Shen Qinghan agreed and her frown faded, replaced by a sweet smile. “You’re right. I’ve always done well on written tests. I’ll definitely beat the average.”