Shanhai High School, First Year Class 1.

Lin Zichen couldn’t focus in class all morning, his mind replaying what had happened the previous night.

That Rat God Cult believer had clearly been arrested by the security officers during the day, so how had he appeared later that night at a garbage station in the suburbs, covered in blood and eating rats?

Had he escaped from prison?

And been gravely injured in the process?

That had to be it…

As he thought, Lin Zichen took out his phone and browsed the local news to see if there was any report related to the Ratman from last night.

Unfortunately, after scrolling the entire morning, he found nothing.

Instead, a mechanical modification article caught his attention.

“The Machine God Group announced at this morning’s nine o’clock press conference that they have developed a new mechanical modification technology and are now recruiting 500 volunteers for human experimentation. Participants will receive monthly stipends and lifelong insurance. Kindly note: the experiment carries a risk of disability or death.”

Monthly stipends?

Lifelong insurance?

But if the subject dies during the experiment, do those benefits still apply?

If not, then this is just a scam dressed up as generosity…

Lin Zichen pondered idly.

* * *

The bell rang, marking the end of morning classes.

Students rushed out of the classroom, eager to get to the cafeteria before the lunch line grew too long.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan however, weren’t in any hurry. They stayed seated.

Just like in middle school, both brought their own lunch from home, avoiding the cafeteria crowd altogether.

A few minutes later, Shen Qinghan put down her pen, picked up both her and Lin Zichen’s lunch boxes and went to the teacher’s office to heat them up.

Soon, she returned with the food warmed.

Lin Zichen accepted his box, eating while scrolling through the news, determined to find something related to the Rat God Cult.

Just as he finished eating and was about to wash his lunch box, he finally came across a fresh report related to the cult.

It had just been released on the official government news site.

He clicked in. The report was exactly what he wanted—it described the Rat God Cult believer who had been eating rats at the suburban garbage station last night.

“Xiao Chen, what are you looking at so intently?”

Having just finished washing her lunch box, Shen Qinghan noticed Lin Zichen still glued to his phone and not cleaning up. Curious, she asked.

“News about the Rat God Cult,” Lin Zichen replied absentmindedly.

Shen Qinghan wasn’t particularly interested in the cult. Seeing the grease starting to solidify in Lin Zichen’s lunch box, she picked it up to wash it for him.

But as soon as she turned, she saw the two girls who had previously mocked her as a servant girl standing in the hallway. She froze, fear creeping up her face.

She didn’t dare wash Lin Zichen’s box now, afraid those girls would tease her again for acting like his servant.

After a moment’s inner struggle, she decided to go anyway.

Being mocked as Lin Zichen’s servant was painful, but that was just what others thought—not what Lin Zichen thought. She shouldn’t let it bother her too much.

That was what she told herself. Still, as she walked past those girls with Lin Zichen’s lunch box, she couldn’t help but dread hearing the word “servant.”

Fortunately, nothing happened. She heard no laughter or mockery along the way.

However, once she was out of earshot, the girls started gossiping.

“See? I told you she’s Lin Zichen’s personal servant. She’s even washing his lunch box. So diligent.”

“Only through hardship comes success. With her weak martial ability, if she doesn’t work hard to please her master, she won’t last long in the Elite Class.”

“Who are you calling a servant?”

A voice suddenly sounded right in front of them.

Both girls jumped, having not noticed anyone approach.

“N-No one, you heard wrong,” one girl stammered when she saw Lin Zichen standing there.

The other lowered her head, too frightened to meet his gaze.

Lin Zichen looked at them calmly.

One was Wen Yuntong.

The other was Chu Yuxi.

Both ranked near the bottom of the class, only slightly better than Shen Qinghan.

He didn’t say much. His tone remained even as he said, “Don’t let me hear you badmouth Shen Qinghan again.”

His voice was calm, but the girls’ hearts were pounding.

They both thought, ‘We’re doomed. We’ve offended Lin Zichen. Our high school life is over!’

“And if you hear anyone else saying bad things about her, kindly pass along what I just said.”

With that, Lin Zichen turned and walked back to the classroom.

As they watched his back fade down the hall, both girls exhaled deeply. From that day on, they swore never to mock Shen Qinghan again.

If they angered Lin Zichen, life at Shanhai High School would become unbearable.

* * *

Time flew by.

Before they knew it, the final bell rang and the afternoon classes ended.

On the way home, Lin Zichen thought for a while before asking, “You’ve been down lately. Is it because people have been talking behind your back?”

“It’s true, but it’s fine. I’m not really that upset about it,” Shen Qinghan said, pretending not to care.

Lin Zichen spoke gently, “If something bothers you, you can talk to me. We grew up together—we should be able to tell each other anything.”

Shen Qinghan nodded, “Mm, I will.”

After that, they walked in silence for a while.

Almost home, Lin Zichen asked, “Does being last in class ever make you feel pressured?”

“A little,” Shen Qinghan admitted softly, “But talent is fixed. No matter how hard I try, I can’t catch up to the others.”

Lin Zichen disagreed, “Talent might be fixed, but martial technique isn’t. Your talent’s about the same as Wen Yuntong’s and Chu Yuxi’s, but if your martial skills surpass theirs, you can defeat them in the ring.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“It is,” Lin Zichen said firmly, “From now on, I’ll train you three times a week. We’ll focus on martial technique. By the end of the semester, you’ll be able to defeat both of them.”

Hearing that, Shen Qinghan’s once-dim eyes sparkled.

She didn’t want to keep being last in class.

If she could shed that label, then even if people still whispered that she’d gotten in through connections, she’d at least feel better about herself.