On the way to the dorms, the young man in uniform walked while introducing the buildings along the route.

Lin Zichen listened as he looked around on his own.

Most of the time, his gaze was on the sky.

Every so often a cyborg streaked past at high speed overhead, leaving a long vapor trail behind.

That was the high‑pressure exhaust from the thrusters, condensing into mist in the air.

‘From the moment we came in until now, nearly everything we’ve seen is related to mechanical augmentation. So… is the military district’s main combat power the mechanical‑modification path?’

So Lin Zichen wondered.

But he quickly shook off the thought.

He remembered Yuan Dongzhi saying that Southern River Province’s military district headquarters was responsible for suppressing Source Site No. 36.

The Source Site was highly unusual—every electronic product failed inside it.

Some chemical reactions wouldn’t even happen as the laws of physics dictated in there.

In such a bizarre environment, for cyborgs—whose bodies were covered in high‑tech alloy gear—it was a death trap.

You’d go in and turn into a pile of scrap metal, to be butchered by the creatures of the Source Site.

Thinking it through, it was most likely that the gene fusers from the military district had gone into the Source Site, while the cyborgs, who couldn’t enter, stayed behind at the base to guard it.

Hence the feeling that the base was full of cyborgs.

About five minutes later, the young officer brought them to a plain dormitory building and handed each of them a card with a dorm number stuck on it.

“Your dorm number is on the card. Go upstairs and you’ll find the room. Same as a hotel—swipe to open the door; slot the card to use water and power. And you’ll also use this card to eat in the canteen.”

He finished and asked the five, “Any questions?”

All five shook their heads.

He nodded, pointed to a training field not far ahead and said, “Tomorrow at six a.m. gather on that parade ground. Until then it’s free time. Do whatever you want—as long as you don’t break the rules here. While you have time, I suggest walking around. Take this hard‑won special‑training opportunity seriously and get a feel for the military district. But take note—don’t go near areas marked ‘No Entry,’ or you’ll bear the consequences.”

With that said, the young officer hurried off—he looked busy.

After he left, the five quickly took their luggage upstairs. Using the numbers on the cards, they found their rooms without a hitch.

The dorms were plain single rooms.

No washing machine, no hair dryer, no heater.

All there was: a wooden plank bed; a cramped bathroom that combined toilet and shower including a small window where you could hang clothes to dry.

After a quick look around, Lin Zichen opened his suitcase and took out his toiletries and daily items to set things up.

He had just finished when

Shen Qinghan—from the room next door—came in to complain, “Xiao Chen, the bed’s tiny. There’s no way two people can sleep on it.”

Although everyone had a single room, she didn’t want to sleep alone—she wanted to sleep with Lin Zichen.

All through the first semester, she had shared a bed with him every night and had gotten used to him by her side.

Suddenly sleeping alone made her uncomfortable.

“Are you really that clingy?”

Lin Zichen poked her cheek with a smile, his voice gentle, “Sleeping apart once in a while is actually good—it helps keep things fresh. After training, when we’re back at school and sharing a bed again, you’ll experience just how sweet ‘absence makes reunion better.”

“But the training lasts a whole month—that’s way too long.”

“The longer, the sweeter.”

“Is it really that sweet?”

“Really.”

“Then I’ll hold out. A month from now I’m going to savor that sweetness.”

Anticipation colored Shen Qinghan’s face.

They chatted in the room for a bit, then headed out to look around.

Right as they exited the dorm building, they ran into Luo Yongjian on the corridor, literally letting the wind blow through his hair.

His hair‑drying method was unique.

In a white robe, arms folded, he stood motionless by the walkway wall.

His hair—longer than most girls’—floated lightly in the breeze.

From a distance he looked like a hero from ancient times.

‘What an aura farmer.’

Lin Zichen couldn’t help thinking.

“Where are you two lovebirds headed?”

Seeing the couple approach, Luo Yongjian couldn’t help asking.

“Nowhere in particular,” Shen Qinghan replied, “Just going for a walk to get to know the place.”

At that, Luo leapt down from the wall, “Perfect, I was thinking the same. How about I call Li Moyu and Ma Xiwei—let’s all go together?”

Shen Qinghan didn’t answer. Lacking any strong opinion, she tilted her head at Lin Zichen, letting him decide.

Luo looked on with envy.

He wanted a girlfriend like Shen Qinghan—a soft girl who centered her world on him and revolved around him every day.

That kind of girlfriend would be great.

While Luo’s mind ran off in all directions…

Lin Zichen said evenly, “Sure, let’s go look around together.”

“Alright, I’ll fetch them.”

He trotted off to the dorms of Li Moyu and Ma Xiwei.

A moment later he had both of them out.

As soon as she appeared, Ma Xiwei couldn’t help grousing to the group, “These dorms are awful. It feels like prison. Would it kill them to give us something decent?”

Luo Yongjian scoffed, “We’re here for training, not vacation. You’re too pampered.”

“Shut up unless asked,” Ma Xiwei shot back with a frown.

She had never thought much of Luo—just a fool who strutted around with a sword on his back, playing the chivalrous hero.

And now with all that chatter? He was just asking to be roasted.

Luo didn’t dare talk back; he obediently shut up.

After losing to Shen Qinghan at the Freshman Tournament, Ma Xiwei had been stewing; she was touchy and prone to blowing up. No need to provoke her.

‘Yep—smart men don’t take a loss right under their noses. No sense stooping to bicker with a crazy person…’

Luo consoled himself.

Soon enough, the five went downstairs and out for a walk.

They walked and talked as they went.

Shen Qinghan chatted with Lin Zichen.

Li Moyu chatted with Luo Yongjian.

Ma Xiwei hardly said a word, simply following along.

“Look over there! There’s another mecha! Let’s go take a look!”

Spotting a towering mecha in front of a tall building ahead, Luo called out excitedly and headed that way.

The other four followed.

In moments they had stopped before the mecha.

Like the Shanhai they had seen earlier, this one was around ten meters tall and carried the same types of weapons.

The only difference was the color and silhouette.

This one was pure gold and looked sleeker.

Lin Zichen raised his head and glanced up. On the chest he saw the characters—“Changzhou.”

So it was named for Changzhou City.

“Zichen! Xiao Shen!”

Suddenly, two loud shouts came from the right.

Following the voices, Lin Zichen saw a cyborg whose body was covered in alloy.

Looking closely, he was surprised to recognize Zhang Kai.

Zhang Kai had been a member of his middle‑school martial arts team.

After graduation, he couldn’t get into high school and was a street racer for a few years.

Then he broke his leg and became a volunteer for the Machine God Group, helping with various mechanical‑modification experiments.

Calamity breeding blessing, as they say—he directly became a cyborg, his life taking off overnight.

The last time Lin Zichen had seen Zhang Kai was the summer after his first year of high school.

Two and a half years had passed since then.

Now Zhang Kai looked very different.

The biggest change was that his mechanical augmentation had advanced: more than half his limbs were alloy, his whole body gleaming metallically.

Behind him stood four more cyborgs just like him.

They all looked around twenty and in each case more than half their bodies were alloy.

‘So these five were the Machine God Group’s team for the special training? Zhang Kai had the strength to make the cut? Was his mechanical‑modification adaptability maxed out? Truly surprising…’

As Lin Zichen pondered, Zhang Kai strode over, just as surprised and asked, “Zichen, Xiao Shen—you two are here representing Shanhai University for the military‑district special training?”

“Yes,” Lin Zichen nodded.

Hearing the confirmation, Zhang Kai’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

He’d heard that Lin Zichen was Southern River Province’s runner‑up for the college entrance exam.

A mere provincial runner‑up making the top five among Shanhai University’s new students—where provincial champions swarmed—to earn a spot at the military‑district training… unlikely, but still possible.

But what was up with Shen Qinghan?

As he remembered, she’d been a pretty, sweet soft girl—nothing to do with evolution geniuses.

How had just two and a half years turned her into Shanhai University’s top genius—strong enough to rank in the top five of the year?

‘A gene mutation? Freakish development?’

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt. He couldn’t help asking Shen Qinghan, “Xiao Shen, how did you suddenly get so strong? I remember you used to be out of breath after a couple extra laps on the track—and now you’re representing Shanhai University here? That’s ridiculous! Most girls change their looks as they grow up; you changed your strength. Even Sun Wukong’s seventy‑two transformations can’t match yours!”

The more Zhang Kai talked, the more unreal it felt—he wondered if he was dreaming.

Otherwise, how else to explain it?

Lin Zichen explained, “Hanhan scored very high on her gene‑fusion adaptability in the exams—she became the province’s top scorer. After fusing recently, she got very strong.”

“What? The provincial top scorer?”

Zhang Kai’s eyes got even wider—barbell‑wide—and his face was full of disbelief, “You’re not messing with me, are you? Is that for real?”

Seeing his doubt, Shen Qinghan, as the person in question, answered softly, “It’s true.”

At that, Zhang Kai was even more stunned, “Well, I’ll be—if even Xiao Shen can be the provincial top scorer… that’s absurd beyond belief.”

“What about you, Zhang Kai?”

Lin Zichen asked curiously, “If I’m not wrong, you’re here representing the Machine God Group. How did you get this strong?”

“Pretty similar to Xiao Shen,” Zhang Kai said, “My mechanical‑mod adaptability is really high. I’ve been taking part in all kinds of new modification trials with the Machine God Group these past few years and I’ve been lucky—no accidents. Before I knew it, I’d become this strong.”

Lin Zichen nodded, “I see.”

They chatted for a while.

After a bit, Zhang Kai started showing off the various alloy systems in his body right in front of Lin Zichen.

“This transparent tube on my right arm is a reverse‑flow ram unit. It lets me burst out terrifying power in an instant—one punch can blow apart a military blast shield. See this arc on my chest? There’s an energy pump inside—it massively boosts my athletic output. And these little ports at my feet let me run as fast as if I were flying. Hard to picture from words alone, I know. When training starts tomorrow I’ll open your eyes.”

Zhang Kai spoke with a proud grin.

Not an obnoxious pride—more like sharing with friends.

Lin Zichen smiled, “Alright—looking forward to seeing you in action.”

They talked a bit more.

Then the topic shifted to the mecha before them. Zhang Kai grinned at Lin Zichen and said, “You might not believe it, but that mecha in front of you is a super‑weapon our Machine God Group manufactured. And not just this one—every mecha you see on this base was made by our group. We work with every military district in the country. Surprising, huh?”

“It is,” Lin Zichen nodded.

After hearing Zhang Kai out, he had a deeper understanding of the Machine God Group.

He had thought it was just a powerful private tech firm—not worth mentioning next to the official forces.

Now he realized it wasn’t so simple—it was a behemoth that could stand on equal footing with the military districts, with extremely high status.

In a country where all things military were held firmly in official hands, the emergence of a private company with such combat capacity was hard to believe.

“Zhang Kai, enough chatting—we need to get to Captain Chen,” said a short‑haired female cyborg, seeing that Zhang Kai had no intention of stopping.

That finally reminded him he had business. He smiled at Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan, “Zichen, Xiao Shen—I’ve got to go. See you at the parade ground tomorrow.”

“Mm. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Zhang Kai.”

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan answered in turn.

Soon, Zhang Kai left with the four cyborgs.

As the Machine God Group’s people walked off, Li Moyu asked curiously, “Lin Zichen, that buzz‑cut who was talking your ear off—are you close?”

“Not really,” Lin Zichen said calmly, “He was on my middle‑school martial arts team. Sometimes we run into each other and chat, but we don’t keep in touch.”

“I see,” Li Moyu nodded.

Then Luo Yongjian suggested, “It’s almost noon—I’m getting hungry. How about we hit the canteen first, then walk some more?”

“I’m hungry too.”

“Sounds good.”

“Let’s go.”

“I just hope the canteen food’s decent.”

Everyone agreed with Luo’s plan and the five of them headed for the mess hall.