Who could have guessed?
Even when he was playing a game, he still had to grind away at a research paper.
If this were just an ordinary game, Tang Xiao definitely wouldn’t have bothered. Come on, if he wanted to study properly, couldn’t he just do that in real life?
But when he thought about how unusual this game was, along with the grand promise he’d made to his big brother, Tang Xiao gritted his teeth and continued searching online for information related to the project.
While looking up information, Tang Xiao also searched for background on the game’s world. He had assumed such information wouldn’t be easy to find, but to his surprise, he came across quite a few relevant news reports.
The world had developed much like the real world in almost every respect, except for two things: fungi were abnormally active, and people with superpowers existed.
Superpowers in this world weren’t myths or fictional concepts; they were real. Powerful ability users had even influenced the course of ancient wars several times, and in modern times, they had given rise to issues such as the bloodline discrimination seen in TV dramas.
But a turning point came a hundred years ago.
Most fungi, which had originally been harmless, suddenly began parasitizing plants and animals on a massive scale. First, people noticed an unusual abundance of mushrooms in the forests. Then came outbreaks of zombie fungus among animals. This strange fungus could infect mammals and turn them into vectors. Infected life forms lost their minds and relentlessly attacked their own kind, much like zombies in movies and TV shows.
Eventually, the disease spread to humans and caused an enormous catastrophe. Governments around the world collapsed, leaving behind only a single human alliance. In the end, the world became a place where fungi had overrun the wilderness and humanity was confined to the cities.
A hundred years ago, there had been more than two billion people in the world. Now, only 100 million remained, and that number was still declining. Humanity simply couldn’t withstand the fungi. If there were no new technological breakthroughs, mankind might vanish from the world before the next century—or become vessels for spreading fungi, just like other species.
Reading this, Tang Xiao understood. No wonder the Third Eye had been so agitated when Bard falsified the data. If 428 truly could control or even influence fungi, it might really be the key to changing humanity’s future.
And could 428 do that? The main quest had already revealed the answer: 428’s final evolutionary form was the King of Fungi. Wasn’t that basically a spoiler?
At that thought, Tang Xiao finally felt a little motivated. Thank goodness this main quest wasn’t just a dating sim!
He was going to become the savior of this world!
Then his gaze fell on the document he had just created...
Damn, did it really have to be this realistic? Weren’t the protagonists in other zombie-apocalypse stories usually mercenaries escorting important test subjects? Why was he the researcher in charge?
But there was no changing the main quest, so what else could he do?
Study...
The holiday lasted seven days. Tang Xiao spent most of it in the game, frantically working on his paper and conducting experiments. Whenever the other scholars took a break, he recorded 428’s current data and read papers from related fields. He was so busy that he completely lost track of time, and before he knew it, it was already time to return to school.
Tang Xiao’s eldest brother had left home before the holiday was even over. Tang Xiao also had to leave his family home, return to his rented apartment, and then go back to school.
Early in the morning, Tang Xiao walked to the door with his luggage in hand and dark circles under his eyes from staying up late.
Tang Xiao’s father hadn’t left for work yet. One glance at his younger son was enough to tell him that Tang Xiao had been staying up late gaming every day, and his expression immediately soured.
“All you do is play games. You’ve accomplished a little, and now you’re already getting carried away.”
Tang Xiao froze, then protested indignantly, “You don’t understand. I’ve been studying!”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Tang Xiao’s father rolled his eyes. “You wear a VR headset every day. Are you studying inside the game? Which one of us is the idiot, you or me?”
Tang Xiao: “...”
“You remember what you promised me before, right?”
Tang Xiao visibly paused, but before his father’s expression could darken, he dragged the memory out from some forgotten corner of his mind.
“Of course I remember. Don’t worry! Just wait for the good news.”
“Hmph.” Tang Xiao’s father clearly didn’t believe him. “Professor Li and I go way back. I’ll have him keep an eye on you. Don’t even think about skipping class again!”
Tang Xiao immediately pulled a long face but didn’t dare complain.
Sigh. Looks like he’d have to play the game at night.
The driver took him back to campus. As luck would have it, his first class was with Old Man Li. Tang Xiao hurried back to the dorm to drop off some snacks. The moment he opened the door, his roommates looked over at him.
Bajie let out a groan.
“Ahhh, how could this happen!”
“Heh heh, I win! I told you Xiao Xiao would come back to class! Hand it over, hand it over!”
“Fine, take it! This is my last skin!”
“You guys actually bet on me?” Tang Xiao was speechless, both amused and exasperated.
“Baldy bet us that you’d decided to turn over a new leaf starting today. We didn’t really believe him,” Sha Seng said. “Didn’t expect you to actually come back.”
“It’s probably not quite what you think.”
Tang Xiao picked up his textbook and headed for the door. Seeing the other three still inside the dorm, he asked, “Aren’t you going to class?”
“Xiao Xiao, did something happen to you?” Sha Seng asked half-jokingly. “I’ve never seen you this eager before.”
“You’re overthinking it. My dad just said that if I get full marks on the final exams, he’ll stop bothering me about playing games.”
“Wait, full marks? That’s a pretty harsh condition!”
“It’s not that bad.”
Tang Xiao thought about all the knowledge already etched into his mind and answered casually.
“Xiao Xiao.” Baldy suddenly turned serious.
“What?”
“Show-offs get kicked by donkeys.”
“...”
Tang Xiao thought about it for a moment and couldn’t be bothered to argue.
“You’ll see at the end of the semester.”
Level 1 biology knowledge already covered the entire undergraduate curriculum. Tang Xiao could take the final exam right now and still get full marks.
But he wasn’t smug about it. After all, this was merely a side effect of the game. In his view, if the game were ever officially released, it might change the entire world.
Looking at Tang Xiao’s calm expression, his roommates were genuinely baffled. They couldn’t tell whether he was joking or had really decided to buckle down.
But they didn’t dwell on it for long. Soon, they left the dorm and headed to class.
It was still Old Man Li’s class, but this time it was a lab rather than a lecture. Even Tang Xiao felt a little unfamiliar with the place as he followed the other three to the laboratory building. The lab classes had only started recently that semester, and unfortunately, he had already skipped several...
“Hey, what’s that in your hand?” Baldy asked curiously, looking at the bound notebook Tang Xiao was carrying.
“Nothing. Just something I want to show Old Man Li,” Tang Xiao replied vaguely.
“Tsk, Xiao Xiao.”
“What?”
“I’m starting to believe you really have turned over a new leaf,” Baldy said half-jokingly.
“Get lost. I’m going to become a force to be reckoned with in the gaming world.”
The group chatted and joked as they quickly arrived at the lab. Just as they were entering, someone behind them hurried forward and tried to squeeze in alongside Tang Xiao and Baldy. The lab entrance wasn’t wide enough for two people to enter side by side, and luckily, Baldy reacted quickly and stepped back, avoiding a collision.
The man bumped Tang Xiao’s shoulder, entered the lab first, then glanced back at Baldy and Tang Xiao. Afterward, he acted as though he hadn’t seen them at all and walked into the classroom to take a seat.
Baldy immediately flared up.
“Are you blind? Can’t you see someone standing there?”
“You were in my way,” the man replied coldly, then turned away and ignored them.
Baldy was about to grab him by the shoulder, but Tang Xiao stopped him.
“Forget it. Class is about to start. Old Man Li will be here any minute.”
Baldy reluctantly suppressed his anger and found a seat with Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao rubbed his shoulder and asked, “Who was that guy? Why’s he so full of himself?”
“Damn, we’ve been classmates for a whole year, and you still haven’t remembered him?”
Sha Seng couldn’t hold it in. The tense atmosphere immediately eased, and he narrowed his eyes as he complained, “His name is Xu Xianglei. He’s the top student in our class, but he’s got terrible social skills and he’s really arrogant. I heard his family is pretty well-off too. I thought he was part of your rich-kid circle.”
“What rich-kid circle? I don’t know anything about that.”
Tang Xiao’s family kept a tight rein on him. He had occasionally met the sons of executives from partner companies at annual company parties and other banquets, but he never socialized with them.
Aside from that minor incident, nothing else happened. Soon, the laboratory was full. When the class bell rang, everyone saw Old Man Li stroll up to the lectern with a stack of exam papers tucked under one arm.
“Oh, is everyone here? Class monitor, check attendance.”
“Everyone’s here.”
There were fewer students in their major. The class monitor stood up and looked around, pausing for a second when his gaze passed over Tang Xiao and his roommates before calling out loudly.
“All right, let’s hand back the results from this test.”
Old Man Li wore a genial smile.
“Since everyone is here for once, I’ll call you up one by one to collect your papers, starting with the highest score.”
“First, Xu Xianglei.”
The young man who had just had a minor conflict with Tang Xiao’s group stood up and calmly walked to the front to collect his paper.
“Not bad. You must have been reviewing regularly.”
Old Man Li smiled as he handed Xu Xianglei his test.
“I heard you recently joined Professor Shi’s lab. Keeping up with your studies while working there too—well done.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Xu Xianglei wore a restrained smile as he took the paper and returned to his seat.
“Next, Xin Xintong...”
One student after another stood up to collect their test papers, but Tang Xiao’s name still hadn’t been called.
He already knew what score he had received, so he didn’t react. His roommates, however, seemed to misunderstand the situation and kept looking at him with worried expressions.
“Chang Shujie.”
Baldy went up to the front.
“Huang Zhifan.”
Then it was Bajie’s turn.
After two more names, Sha Seng was called. His real name was “Wei Heyuan.”
By then, Sha Seng had received a failing grade. Old Man Li’s expression turned serious.
“Go back and study properly. These are all things from the textbook.”
Sha Seng scratched his head and nodded in acknowledgment.
At the end, Tang Xiao was the only one who still hadn’t been called.
Old Man Li looked at the one remaining paper, and a rare smile appeared on his face.
“Did you all find this test difficult?”
The room immediately erupted in complaints.
“It was way too hard!”
“The questions were so obscure!”
“Who can remember such obscure details?”
“Exactly! It’d be weird if anyone got full marks!”
Old Man Li smiled and let them vent. Once most of the class had calmed down, he shook the paper in his hand.
“But someone did get full marks.”
“How is that possible?!”
At that, Baldy seemed to remember something and abruptly turned his head toward Tang Xiao.
Xu Xianglei also looked up in astonishment.
Could it be...?!
“There’s still one student who hasn’t received his paper. Tang Xiao, come up.”
That old man had definitely done it on purpose.
Tang Xiao’s mouth twitched. Under everyone’s gaze, he had no choice but to stand and walk helplessly to the lectern.
Old Man Li smiled as he handed Tang Xiao his test.
Once Tang Xiao returned to his seat, he addressed the entire class.
“See? I told you this test wasn’t difficult. Tang Xiao has made great progress lately. The rest of you should learn from him.”
Baldy and the other two immediately led the applause from below.
Tang Xiao nearly lost his composure. His face flushed bright red as he took the paper and hurried back to his seat.
But the moment he sat down, he suddenly felt a sharp gaze coming from nearby.
He instinctively looked in that direction, and Xu Xianglei immediately turned his head away.
Tang Xiao: ?
What was that about?
Looking down at the 92-point paper in his hand, Xu Xianglei gritted his teeth. The score he had been pleased with just moments ago now seemed unbearably glaring.
He was sure this test had been about as difficult as Professor Li’s usual exams, perhaps even a little harder. After all, the amount of material in sophomore year was nothing like freshman year. The scope was broader, and there was far more to memorize.
Professor Li’s class was even worse because he liked testing students on textbook material and occasionally included obscure details. Xu Xianglei had lost points precisely because of that. Those details had little to do with the work he was doing in his current lab, so he hadn’t paid much attention to them.
But how could that useless rich kid possibly...?!
“All right, all right, settle down. Today’s experiment is bacterial staining. The equipment you’ll need has already been set up. First, watch the teaching assistant demonstrate it once.”
With that, Professor Li strolled to the side, leaving the researcher assisting him as a teaching assistant to perform the demonstration.
The diligent graduate student walked to the front and demonstrated the procedure for all the inexperienced students. Everyone watched the TA’s movements intently, and some even took notes.
Once the TA was nearly finished, everyone began working.
The class was divided into groups by dorm, with each group sharing a set of equipment.
Xu Xianglei took a deep breath, shoved the irritating test paper into his bag, glanced at Tang Xiao once more, and began his experiment.
He was highly competitive. He had started preparing early to compete for recommendation-based admission to graduate school and couldn’t stand the thought of anyone working harder than he did. He regarded everyone around him as a potential rival.
Although he didn’t know why Tang Xiao had suddenly started studying seriously again, at least there was no way he could be good at lab work.
He had barely attended any of the previous lab classes, and no one had ever heard of him joining a laboratory.
Biology was, after all, an experimental discipline. No matter how well someone memorized facts from a textbook, very little of that knowledge was useful in actual research.
There was nothing to worry about...
With that thought, Xu Xianglei stopped looking over at Tang Xiao and focused on his own experiment.