The second day of the college entrance exam, June 8th.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan woke up early, ate breakfast and went to school to gather with the others before taking the bus to the combat test site—a vast, primeval forest.

This forest was located in the outskirts of Southern River Province.

It was desolate, filled with wild beasts and rarely visited by people—an ideal place for a practical combat assessment.

Outside their homes, both sets of parents were already up early to send their children off.

“Take this bag of bread with you… Don’t forget the biscuits… Here’s a bottle of sports drink… And this pack of jerky… Bring more food. Eat plenty before entering the forest so you won’t have to rush to find food inside. You can use that time to observe the terrain instead.”

Zhang Wanxin unzipped Lin Zichen’s backpack while speaking, stuffing food into it nonstop.

Feeling his bag getting heavier, Lin Zichen quickly said, “Mom, that’s enough. I can’t finish all this.”

“Isn’t Hanhan eating with you too?”

“Hanhan’s backpack is already full.”

“That doesn’t matter. Whatever you don’t finish, you can eat after the exam. You’ll probably be starving by then anyway.”

Zhang Wanxin was thorough as always, worried that the two kids might go hungry.

Meanwhile, Xu Meng was fussing over Shen Qinghan, reminding her, “Hanhan, the forest is full of dangers. Don’t take risks just to score higher. Your safety comes first, understand?”

“I understand, Mom.”

Shen Qinghan nodded obediently.

Zhang Wanxin overheard and smiled at Xu Meng, “Don’t worry. The two of them are entering through the same test site entrance. With Xiao Chen there, he’ll definitely keep Hanhan safe.”

“Of course.” Xu Meng smiled back, then turned to Lin Zichen with a gentle look, “Xiao Chen, I’ll be counting on you to look after Hanhan. When the exams are over, Aunt Meng will buy you both the newest fruit phones as your graduation gift.”

“Thank you, Aunt Meng,” Lin Zichen replied with a smile, not standing on ceremony.

After so many years of closeness, the two families already treated each other like family—too much politeness would only feel awkward.

“Dad, Mom, Aunt Meng, Uncle Ye, we’re leaving now.”

“Dad, Mom, Aunt Xin, Uncle Sheng, goodbye!”

The two waved to their parents and walked away briskly toward school.

When they arrived, all ten martial arts classes were already lined up on the field.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan jogged over and joined the Class 1 line.

* * *

Half an hour later, the buses that would take them to the forest arrived—ten in total, one per class.

Soon, everyone boarded.

Nearly 500 senior martial arts students from Shanhai High School set out for the exam site.

At the same time, other schools across Southern River Province were also organizing their students.

The total number wasn’t large.

Even major key high schools only had a few hundred martial arts students per grade.

Smaller schools might have just one martial arts class—barely a few dozen students.

So even in this martial arts-heavy province, fewer than 100,000 candidates were martial arts students this year.

The remaining hundreds of thousands were academic, art or technical students.

Those who practiced martial arts were still the minority.

After all, if one failed to become a Gene Fuser or a Cyborg, their future potential would be far lower than that of academic students.

The best they could do was open a dojo and take on disciples.

Next best—become a martial arts instructor at a high school or join a public security department.

Below that—work as a low-level staff member in a dojo.

Academic students, on the other hand, had a much broader range of career options: education, medicine, finance, design, IT and more.

“What a pity, Hanhan. If only I’d been assigned the same test site entrance as you, I could keep you company and cling to Zichen’s thigh. Just thinking about it makes me happy,” said Li Chuxin, leaning over the seat to grin at Shen Qinghan.

Sitting beside her, He Yu immediately protested, “What’s that supposed to mean? My thigh’s not thick enough for you? We’re at the same entrance. Stick with me—you’ll be happy too!”

“Teaming up with a straight-arrowed guy like you isn’t fun,” Li Chuxin shot back with disgust.

“What straight-arrowed guy? I call it being pure and genuine,” He Yu countered.

The two started bickering again, which Shen Qinghan found amusing. She smiled and watched the show.

Next to her, Lin Zichen was wearing earphones, watching news videos on his phone—keeping up with current affairs.

“Kyoto University prodigy successfully fuses with the Shadow Nightcat gene, breaking the school record for the youngest triple Gene Fuser!”

“Mechanical genius girl implants next-generation divine calculation chip into her right eye—able to compute target data at a glance, comparable to the Fiery Golden Eyes!"

“At 4 a.m. today, a mild earthquake struck Shanhai City. A pair of cheating lovers, sensitive to vibrations, ran out naked into the street shouting for everyone to evacuate...”

In the video, a pixelated couple covered themselves as they shouted about the earthquake, while an elderly woman—apparently the woman’s mother-in-law—ran out with a broom and began beating them.

She yelled, “My son works all day at the construction site to send money home and you sneak a man in at midnight? I’ll kill you both, you adulterous pair!”

Meanwhile, the news host maintained a serious tone as comments scrolled across the screen:

“The construction worker brother is crying.”

“It’s fine, as long as the kid’s really his.”

“Cheating but still conscientious—respect.”

“Human nature’s complex. Evil in some ways, good in others.”

“Who says heroes must stand in the light? Heroes can stand naked too!”

Lin Zichen glanced at the comments, finding them amusing but didn’t laugh.

Instead, he frowned slightly.

This was already the second noticeable earthquake in Shanhai City this year.

Wasn’t that a bit too frequent?

Given Shanhai’s geography, even one noticeable quake every few years was rare.

‘Let’s hope I’m just overthinking it. Please, no big earthquake…’

Meanwhile, Shen Qinghan shifted her gaze from He Yu and Li Chuxin to Lin Zichen.

Seeing him quietly watching the news, she couldn’t help but admire him.

‘Xiao Chen’s so calm. Not like other boys his age who are always loud and restless. To have such a perfect childhood friend... I must’ve saved the world in my past life. I’m so lucky…’

A faint, content smile crept across her lips.

Sensing her gaze, Lin Zichen thought she was interested in the video. He took out one earphone and handed it to her.

“Want to watch together?”

“Sure.”

Smiling, Shen Qinghan brushed her hair aside, put the earphone in and leaned closer.

Her shoulder lightly touched his as she tilted her head to share the screen, watching the news video side by side.