sorry for not updating last week! Life…. life happens…
Qiao Zhiya rushed to the nearest restroom at the fastest speed, made sure no one was around, then quickly took off his hat and pushed aside his bangs to look at the small bump on his forehead in the mirror. To his horror, he found that the bump seemed to have grown a little, with the originally round top becoming slightly pointed.
‘What… what’s going on? Am I… turning into a monster?’
He quickly put the hat back on, feeling extremely nervous.
In the past few days, he had been too preoccupied with worrying about Chu Rong, so he hadn’t given much thought to the issue of the small bump on his forehead. Previously, Zhuang Yu had said he was “growing a horn” on his forehead. At the time, he thought it might be a misdiagnosis, perhaps the bump on his forehead was just from accidentally bumping into something.
But now he couldn’t deceive himself anymore. This thing was actually growing! If it were just a bump from hitting something, it wouldn’t have suddenly started growing after so many days!
What is this? Could it really be a horn? But he’s not a half-dwarf half-orc, he couldn’t possibly grow horns. Could it be that his mother or father still had orc genes in their bodies? But no, even if they did, he would have grown them when he was a child, not after many years of adulthood.
Could it be some case of atavism1aka “returning to ancestor”. Wherein ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. So, in the correct scenario, it applied on population level (as is the case on evolution), not on individual level. On an individual level, it’s “more correct” to call it a mutation or maybe a sudden expression on a recessive gene.? Because he frequently overused his strength?
“What are you doing?”
Suddenly, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from the door. He was startled, and quickly held the hat tightly while staring wide-eyed at the tall young man standing at the entrance to the restroom, looking at him with a mix of unfamiliarity and confusion.
His thoughts stopped abruptly, and he froze.
The young man saw his puzzled expression and his apparent shock, clearly because Qiao Zhiya did not recognize him. He immediately exploded, angrily saying, “You damn Native! You don’t even recognize me! You… you…”
‘The tone of his voice…’
AdvertisementQiao Zhiya let go of his hand, carefully observed his features, and then realized, “Xiao Chu?”
The young man immediately shut his mouth, then glared fiercely at him, turned to leave, but then hesitated and turned back, glaring at him and saying, “Come out! Treat me to dinner!”
It turned out to be Yun Xiaochu!
Qiao Zhiya was momentarily stunned, then his eyes lit up with joy as he eagerly approached, saying, “Xiao Chu, how did you grow so big? It’s only been a year since we last met. Did you also get into the Federal Military Academy?”
“So, you also know that it’s been a year since we last met, you always forget to contact me, you terrible guy!” Yun Xiaochu, who seemed to be speedrunning puberty, heard this and couldn’t help but glare at him fiercely. Then, after an indignant hum, he turned to leave.
Qiao Zhiya hurriedly followed him, watching his tall and long-legged figure with a smile in his eyes, saying, “You’re almost as tall as Xiao Yan now, aren’t you? You’ve grown so fast.”
“Who do you think you are…” Yun Xiaochu muttered, then glanced back at his unchanged appearance over the years. His lips moved, but he swallowed the words, continuing to urge him to walk faster.
The two of them sat down in the school cafeteria. Qiao Zhiya cheerfully ordered a bunch of food, then sent a message to Chu Yan and Sang Bu, and while handing chopsticks to Yun Xiaochu, he asked, “Are you still adapting to life here?”
Advertisement“Don’t you think that greeting is a bit too late?” Yun Xiaochu replied with a displeased expression, though he couldn’t help but order a few snacks for him, then took out a box and handed it over, saying disdainfully, “Someone asked me to give this to you.”
Qiao Zhiya was puzzled as he took the box and opened it to find a strange book inside. He asked, “Who gave this to you?”
“Ning Kongran,” Yun Xiaochu answered reluctantly, then quickly explained, “He knows my dad, although I don’t know when he met my dad. Anyway, he and my dad went out together recently, and before they left, he asked me to give this to you. Don’t ask him what else he said! He didn’t say anything else, he just threw this at me and left, as if I’m his little brother and should listen to his orders and run errands for him!2in case you forgot, Ning Kongran do have dealings with the Yun family.”
Qiao Zhiya saw Yun Xiaochu’s expression turn fierce as he spoke, and he promptly closed his mouth, deciding not to ask further. He put away the box and invited Yun Xiaochu to eat.
After a while, Chu Yan and Sang Bu finished their exams and hurried over. Yun Xiaochu was very displeased that they disrupted his “two-person world” with Qiao Zhiya, but seeing how happy Qiao Zhiya was, he suppressed his dissatisfaction, scowled, and sat down next to Qiao Zhiya.
Chu Yan looked at his erge’s childish rival-in-love with a twitch of his lips, choosing not to argue with a child.
The lunch was lively and noisy. After eating, everyone dispersed to continue their respective exams.
Qiao Zhiya entered the practical exam room for the fourth-year students of the mecha manufacturing major and saw Xiang Kun sitting in the observation seats for lower-grade students. Xiang Kun smiled friendly at him, waved, then walked to his own operating platform and stood waiting for the exam to begin.
He was taken aback by Xiang Kun’s friendly greeting. Since the collapse of the Presidential Palace, his mood had improved slightly. He tightened his grip on his tablet and got ready for the exam.
The fourth-year exam now involved component modification and mecha assembly, all of which were Qiao Zhiya’s strengths, so he quickly completed the exam.
AdvertisementAfter leaving the exam room early, he found Xiang Kun following him. Guessing that he might have something to say, so he stopped at the corner and waited for him to approach.
Seeing Xiang Kun quickly approaching, he hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What about your Dasao?”
“Everything’s fine now, the baby is doing well,” Qiao Zhiya answered with a smile, then took out a ticket from his storage ring and handed it to Xiang Kun, saying, “Xiao Yan wants to go watch the virtual mecha battle competition this weekend. He hasn’t relaxed in a long time, but unfortunately, I have something to do this weekend and can’t go. Here’s the ticket, could you go for me?”
Xiang Kun was taken aback and quickly pushed it back, saying, “No need, my relationship with him isn’t good, I don’t want to invite his criticism. Xiao Yan and Yuan Xiu have a good relationship, if you’re busy, you can give the ticket to Yuan Xiu, he would…”
A sound of something breaking through the air suddenly approached from behind. Qiao Zhiya’s ears perked up, about to pull Xiang Kun away to dodge, but Xiang Kun, who saw the danger first, pulled him away forcefully, using his body to block an incoming attack.
“Ugh!”
After the impact, Xiang Kun groaned and fell to the ground.
Qiao Zhiya’s expression turned stern. He quickly caught Xiang Kun and rolled on the ground to avoid the next attack. When he looked up, he saw that the attacker was Ling Yi, who had once kindly participated in the first-year military training with Jian. Surprised, he saw Ling Yi about to attack again, so he quickly threw out a silver net to try to restrain Ling Yi’s limbs.
Ling Yi agilely dodged and made eye contact with him. His body suddenly twitched imperceptibly, then he violently convulsed twice and turned his head sharply towards the wall, intending to crash into it.
The commotion here attracted the teachers around the exam venue, and everyone rushed over.
AdvertisementQiao Zhiya handed the unconscious Xiang Kun to one of the teachers and approached Ling Yi, who was being restrained by another teacher, silently struggling. He turned Ling Yi’s face over and saw his unfocused eyes and unclear consciousness. Alarmed, he took out a potion and fed it to him.
After the potion went down his throat, Ling Yi’s eyes cleared for a moment. He gasped for breath a few times with his mouth wide open, then suddenly grabbed Qiao Zhiya’s sleeve and spoke with difficulty, “Don’t mind me… save, save my father… please save… him, he’s being… Ning… quickly…” Before he could finish his sentence, he struggled hard for a moment. His eyes rolled, and he passed out.
“What’s wrong with him?” one of the teachers asked worriedly.
Qiao Zhiya’s expression tensed as he replied, “He was fed a mind-manipulating drug. Send him to the infirmary first.”
After saying that, he stood up and went to check on Xiang Kun, who had only been temporarily knocked out by a hit to the chest with a mecha manufacturing tool and was now slowly regaining consciousness. Qiao Zhiya sighed in relief, sent a message to Chu Yan, and then immediately dialed Chu Huai’s communication number.
1aka “returning to ancestor”. Wherein ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. So, in the correct scenario, it applied on population level (as is the case on evolution), not on individual level. On an individual level, it’s “more correct” to call it a mutation or maybe a sudden expression on a recessive gene.2in case you forgot, Ning Kongran do have dealings with the Yun family.Sponsored Content
