Evolving infinitely from ground zero

```

Lin Zichen led Shen Qinghan back home, and upon entering the door, they saw the principal of the Shanhai High School's high school division.

The person was a middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, her hair neatly pinned up, dressed in a ladies' business suit, giving off a very capable vibe.

"Xiao Chen, Han Han, come sit over here and have a good talk with Principal Bai."

As soon as the two children arrived, Zhang Wanxin immediately waved them over to sit down on the sofa.

Soon, Lin Zichen sat down opposite the female principal.

He was well aware that the female principal was there for student recruitment, so after briefly chatting with her, he cut straight to the chase and asked:

"Principal Bai, I personally prefer to skip ahead to the high school division, but I have a small request. I'd like to continue being in the same class as my childhood friend here. Is that possible?"

"Of course, that's no problem!"

The female principal answered without hesitation.

She had already discussed this with the middle school's Principal Chen and knew Lin Zichen would make such a small request.

And she had also learned everything about Shen Qinghan beforehand.

The academic performance was very good; it was just the physical test scores that were lacking, causing the failure to be accepted into the martial arts elite class.

For a student whose grades weren't terribly bad, bending the rules to admit her was no big deal.

The conversation was brief.

In the end, both Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan confirmed they would attend Shanhai High School's high school division, and just like in elementary and middle school, they would be in the same class.

The only difference was, Shen Qinghan was not as cheerful as she was during the transition from elementary to middle school.

Back then when she learned that she would go to the same school and class and sit next to Lin Zichen, she was extremely delighted.

Yet now, as she transitioned from middle to high school, she felt more embarrassed, inferior, and discouraged.

As she grew older, Shen Qinghan had come to realize that getting in through the back door was actually quite disgraceful.

But unfortunately, she had to rely on this method every time to stay in the same class and desk as Lin Zichen.

This made her feel utterly useless, like a large infant completely dependent on others.

...

A few days later.

At the Shanhai High School's middle school division, inside the gymnasium.

Guo Xiangyuan, the Martial Arts Team coach, was rigorously training the twenty-six team members.

In the past, the Martial Arts Team wasn't given much attention by the school leaders and had few members, so he lacked the enthusiasm to train them, and the team was mostly in a free-range state.

But ever since Lin Zichen joined the Martial Arts Team and took it to a whole new level, everything changed.

The school leaders started to pay attention to the Martial Arts Team.

The number of students wanting to join the Martial Arts Team increased too.

These changes made him also become more responsible and committed to leading the Martial Arts Team properly.

"Hello, captain!"

"Hello, captain!"

"Hello, Senior Shen!"

"..."

No sooner had Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan stepped into the gym from outside than the Martial Arts Team members training inside all stopped to greet them.

Even Guo Xiangyuan, as the coach, changed from his stern expression to a smile and said, "Zi Chen, Xiao Shen, there's tea on the table that's just the right temperature. Sit down and have a cup first."

"No need, I just came to grab a yoga mat to use, and then I'll leave," Lin Zichen replied, picked up a yoga mat with one hand, and went to a corner up front to relax Shen Qinghan's muscles.

Shen Qinghan had just finished training on the outdoor field and was now all achy and utterly exhausted. As soon as she saw the yoga mat laid out on the ground, she flopped down on it without any strength.

Immediately after, she skillfully parted her legs to facilitate Lin Zichen's massaging of her leg muscles.

Thanks to several years of training, Shen Qinghan's physical fitness had improved a lot, and her body proportion had become even more perfect.

Take her legs, for example; they used to be straight and slender, like chopsticks, without much flesh and lacking a sense of beauty.

But now, a bit of flesh had filled out her legs, making them fuller. This not only improved the feel but also made her legs look healthy and attractive.

"Xiao Chen, you can use a bit more force on the thighs."

"Okay."

"No, no, that's too hard, it hurts!"

"How about now?"

"Now it's just right."

Shen Qinghan relaxed her body, lying on the yoga mat, closing her eyes to rest and relieve fatigue, while enjoying Lin Zichen's massage at just the right pressure.

About half an hour later.

The massage was over.

```

Shen Qinghan rose from the yoga mat and stretched languidly, her face expressing utmost comfort.

Then, she looked down at Lin Zichen, seated beside her, and said with a smile, "Xiao Chen, it's your turn to enjoy my massage techniques. Lie down, quick."

"Remember to press hard," he replied.

"No problem, I'll take care of all your needs!"

"Then come on, start with my calves."

As he spoke, Lin Zichen lay down, letting Shen Qinghan's delicate hands work on his body.

…

One month later.

The date had turned to August 1st.

Having joined the Martial Arts Team for three years, Lin Zichen was about to enter his third inter-school competition.

In this competition, just like the previous two, he defeated an entire school by himself.

Sweeping through three rounds, he claimed the championship with an uncontested victory.

After receiving his prize money,

Lin Zichen immediately went to the marketplace to find the broker who rented stalls there, seeking a purchase.

He was only 20% away from unlocking the Phantom Squid album. With a prize money of 20,000 Yuan, he could unlock it today.

Soon enough,

he got his hands on the purchased Phantom Squid Meat.

After leaving the mall, Lin Zichen headed to a small grove without surveillance cameras and eagerly began to devour it.

[You have consumed a significant amount of the "Phantom Squid's" Life Origin.]

[Phantom Squid album: 100% complete.]

Following the appearance of the text, a blue squid slowly began to emerge in the void, casually swimming in the ethereal ocean, seemingly content.

This was a Phantom Squid.

It had eighteen tentacles.

And on each tentacle was an eye.

It looked particularly odd and peculiar.

Suddenly, the squid seemed to sense Lin Zichen's gaze and swiftly sank into the depths of the void ocean, vanishing without a trace.

At the same time, new text appeared in the void.

[You have successfully unlocked the Phantom Squid album and acquired the Biometric Attribute—Blessing of Melting Water.]

[Blessing of Melting Water: Significantly enhances your affinity with water, allowing you to move freely in the water and disappear without a trace.]

That's it?

After reading the description of the attribute, the first thought that come to Lin Zichen's mind was that the effect of Blessing of Melting Water seemed somewhat trivial.

Out of thoroughness, he immediately found the nearest swimming pool to test out the effect of the Blessing of Melting Water attribute.

He soaked in the pool for a whole three hours.

Ultimately, he discovered that the Blessing of Melting Water attribute had the following effects:

One: after spending a long time in water, his skin didn't wrinkle like it used to.

Two: soaking in water felt very comfortable.

Three: when swimming, he could clearly feel a significant reduction in water resistance.

Beyond that, there were no other effects.

Lin Zichen felt a bit disappointed; compared to attributes like Use It or Lose It, Divine Human Wisdom Root, and Survival of the Fittest, Blessing of Melting Water fell far short.

But on second thought, it was normal for it to be far inferior.

After all, the Phantom Squid was a very low-level Exotic Beast, valuable only for consumption and with no value for Genetic Fusion.

The Biometric Attribute gained from unlocking its album would naturally also be low-level.

To acquire Biometric Attributes of a higher level, one would likely need to consume those high-level Exotic Beasts used for Genetic Fusion.

With this realization, Lin Zichen came to terms with it.

After all, the Blessing of Melting Water Biometric Attribute only cost 100,000 Yuan to obtain, which was quite a bargain; there was nothing to be disappointed about.

To acquire better Biometric Attributes, he could slowly save up money to buy them in the future; they would come eventually.

Or perhaps, once he became stronger, he could hunt and consume wild Exotic Beasts.

For example, those Giant Mutant Rats that were the closest to him... Lin Zichen suddenly thought boldly.

…

PS: Begging for Monthly Passes and recommendation tickets!