“Xiao Chen, I can hold my breath underwater for a really long time! Xiao Chen, I can see so clearly underwater, even the sand at the bottom is sharp and clear! Xiao Chen, the fish in the water aren’t afraid of me!”

“...”

Following Lin Zichen’s suggestions, Shen Qinghan kept trying different things in the water to test her affinity with it.

After each attempt, her small face would light up in shock, amazed she could do so many incredible things underwater.

She suddenly felt like she didn’t even know herself.

Lin Zichen watched the whole time, his face just as astonished.

Shen Qinghan’s ability in the water was no weaker than his, even with his Blessing of Water Fusion attribute.

For her to have such overwhelming water affinity—if this wasn’t a supernatural ability, what else could it be?

Bedwetting Queen? More like a Water Elementalist!

In the time that followed, Lin Zichen had Shen Qinghan keep performing underwater actions, checking to see if her body showed any changes.

Like pores expanding or contracting abnormally, sudden changes in body temperature, or a racing or slowing heartbeat.

But after observing her for a while, he found nothing.

When Shen Qinghan soaked in water, her body was no different from an ordinary person’s, with no unusual changes.

‘Looks like just watching her closely won’t give me answers. I’ll have to search online or dig into some books to solve this mystery…’ Lin Zichen thought.

As he thought, Shen Qinghan burst out of the water with a splash after holding her breath for more than ten minutes.

Her little face was flushed red.

She gasped for air.

Catching her breath, she looked at Lin Zichen expectantly, “Xiao Chen, how long did I last?”

“11 minutes and 2 seconds.” Lin Zichen checked his phone’s timer.

Such a record was impossible without specialized training.

Yet Shen Qinghan, who had never once been to a swimming pool before, could do it easily. It was astonishing.

Realizing this, Shen Qinghan grew excited, “Xiao Chen, it seems I really do have talent for water. I’m not just some useless girl anymore!”

“You were never useless. You scored in the top 100 academically in the whole district during the exams. That’s something many could never achieve.”

“But next to you, I feel like a fai—”

“—I said you’re not useless.” Lin Zichen interrupted before she could finish.

Silence fell around them.

Only the sound of waves and sea breeze lingered in their ears.

After three seconds, Shen Qinghan’s face broke into a sweet smile, “Mm, I’m not useless. I wasn’t before, I’m not now and I won’t be in the future.”

It was a genuine smile, filled with true joy.

From the shore, Lin Yansheng shouted, “Xiao Chen, Hanhan, come eat barbecue!”

With his voice came the tempting aroma of grilled meat drifting over.

Shen Qinghan sniffed it from afar and licked her lips, then looked at Lin Zichen with a playful smile, “Xiao Chen, let’s go eat barbecue!”

She turned and started swimming toward shore, eager to feast.

But just as she moved, she froze, face looking odd.

Recognizing the familiar expression, Lin Zichen instantly felt numb, quickly pretending not to notice as he swam toward shore.

He didn’t blame her, knowing it wasn’t deliberate.

Some things were truly beyond Shen Qinghan’s control.

* * *

That night, lying on his bed with his phone, Lin Zichen searched the internet, describing Shen Qinghan’s incredible water feats in detail.

But he found nothing.

He was frustrated. Why were the search engines in this world so useless? Every query returned nothing helpful.

First the “Abyssal Giant Butterfly,” then “Life Origin,” now Shen Qinghan’s “overwhelming water affinity”—all drew blanks.

This world was too mysterious, with everything unknown.

It was like living in a place where, without science, everything seemed like magic.

Shaking his head, he set his phone aside.

Taking advantage of the quiet night, he left the seaside house and went swimming instead of running as planned.

The allure of the water was irresistible, thanks to Blessing of Water Fusion.

He figured he’d need to soak enough times to get used to it, lose the novelty and then return to normal.

* * *

[You swam 10km, Vitality +8888, Muscle Strength +2000, Muscle Coordination +2000, Water Affinity +1000, Swimming Skill +1000]

[You dived 10km, Vitality +8888, Muscle Strength +2000, Muscle Coordination +2000, Water Affinity +1000, Oxygen Resistance +1000, Water Pressure Resistance +1000, Diving Skill +1000]

After over two hours, Lin Zichen finally finished his swim training.

He sat on the shore for half an hour to rest, then dove back into the water.

This time, instead of training, he held his breath and explored the seabed.

[You are using your eyes in the dark seabed, Oxygen Resistance +1, Water Pressure Resistance +1, Underwater Vision +1, Night Vision +1…]

Exploring further, he found the undersea world even richer than land.

It was colorful, full of strange and diverse life.

‘The ocean truly is the origin of life. Its depths far surpass land. I hope someday I can evolve to live underwater, to explore its mysteries…’

With that fantasy in mind, Lin Zichen kept training his oxygen resistance and water pressure resistance by holding his breath at the bottom.

[You are holding your breath in the dark seabed, Oxygen Resistance +1, Water Pressure Resistance +1]

[You are using your eyes in the dark seabed, Oxygen Resistance +1, Water Pressure Resistance +1, Underwater Vision +1, Night Vision +1]

[You are moving in the dark seabed, Underwater Movement +1, Water Affinity +1…]

Lin Zichen spent nearly two hours training underwater before finally surfacing and returning to the seaside house to rest.