Chapter 143: 117, Trial of the Start of School
Upon learning that Shen Qinghan was spoken for, the blond-haired male student promptly picked up his chair and left, returning to his original spot.
It wasn’t far away, just two rows in front.
After the blond-haired male student left,
Lin Zichen looked around at the new students in the gymnasium.
The new students from Martial Arts College were the most numerous, surpassing the combined number of new students from Evolution College and Mechanical Academy.
Martial Arts College had 1,896 new students,
Mechanical Academy had 654 new students,
Evolution College had 469 new students.
These figures were what Lin Zichen had seen on the official website during the summer holidays.
Not only Shanhai University, but universities around the world had a significantly higher number of martial arts students compared to evolution and mechanics students.
The reason for this phenomenon was primarily that the thresholds for Evolution College and Mechanical Academy were too high, and only a minority of students who took the college entrance examinations could get in.
Many students, who failed to secure a place in the entrance examinations but remained determined, would opt for Martial Arts College instead.
They planned to continue training their bodies over the four years of university to enhance their physical strength in hopes of improving their compatibility with genetic fusion and mechanical enhancement before transferring to Evolution College or Mechanical Academy.
However, this path was challenging.
Out of ten martial arts students, maybe only one might succeed.
The other nine who didn’t make it were likely to end up worse off than students from the humanities and arts after graduation.
Lin Zichen continued to survey the new students around him.
Soon, his gaze landed on a girl in the talent class.
This girl was sitting in front of him to the side, wearing a set of loose-fitting sportswear, with a shoulder-length haircut that was convenient for high-intensity workouts. She had a very beautiful side profile.
However, the most captivating feature was not the girl’s pretty face, but the pair of beast ears on her head.
They were fluffy purple beast ears, about the size of a hand, very conspicuous among the crowd.
Lin Zichen knew that she was the chancellor’s daughter whom Shen Qinghan had mentioned during lunch, the only Genetic Integrator among all the new students.
He carefully observed the characteristics of the purple beast ears on the girl’s head and quickly deduced which Exotic Beast Gene she had integrated.
It was the gene of the Shadow Night Cat, the same as the prodigy from Beijing University.
Complete integration of the Shadow Night Cat gene could enhance one’s agility, reaction speed, dynamic visual capture, night vision, perception, and other abilities.
It seemed very powerful with many abilities enhanced, but that was contingent on full integration of the Shadow Night Cat gene.
The process of complete integration, however, could be exceedingly long.
It might take a few years at the shortest, or over a decade at the longest.
For someone like the prodigy from Beijing University, who had successfully integrated four Exotic Beast Genes before graduating from university, it was an exceptionally rare case.
Having a high compatibility for genetic fusion was not enough on its own.
One must also possess certain Special Physiques.
For example, a physique resistant to gene rejection, which allowed various foreign genes to coexist, or one that facilitated gene expression and so on.
Across the country, there are many geniuses with high genetic fusion compatibility, but super-geniuses with various Special Physiques are unique, with only the prodigy from Beijing University known publicly at this stage.
Lin Zichen continued to observe the beast ears on the girl’s head, trying to ascertain the extent of her integration with the Shadow Night Cat gene.
On the other side, the girl sensed someone observing her and immediately turned around following the line of sight, then looked straight into Lin Zichen’s eyes.
In that moment of eye contact, Lin Zichen felt as though he was being watched by a dark black cat.
The girl’s eyes were like two obsidian stones, exhibiting the traits of the Shadow Night Cat and emanating a predatory gaze that was overwhelmingly oppressive.
The mutual gaze did not last long, merely two seconds, and ended as the girl turned back around.
A bit aloof… Lin Zichen mentally labeled the girl during that brief exchange of looks.
His gaze shifted from the girl and continued to survey the other newcomers.
Then, almost naturally, his attention was drawn to the blond-haired male student seated in front.
That blond-haired male student was really talkative, cheerfully chatting with people around him and constantly reacting with exaggerated expressions, making it hard for others nearby to ignore him.
And those whom he engaged in conversation only managed polite smiles on the surface but were inwardly extremely annoyed.
A real chatterbox… Lin Zichen silently tagged the blond-haired male student in his mind.
Soon, the time reached 2 p.m.
The New Student Assembly began.
The meeting was hosted by Vice-Chancellor Yuan Dongzhi.
Lin Zichen found this somewhat strange.
It should have been the chancellor himself hosting such an event, so why was a vice-chancellor presiding?
Where had the head chancellor gone?
On stage, Yuan Dongzhi’s speech was very brief, spouting less than ten minutes of platitudes before handing the microphone over to other leaders of the university.
The other leaders were similarly concise, averaging less than three minutes to finish their speeches.
After the university leaders had spoken, it was time for students to take the stage.
The student speeches were divided into two parts, first the new student representative, followed by the student council president.
“Please welcome Li Moyu from the talent class, the representative for the new students, with a round of applause!”
One of the leaders on stage said, reaching for the microphone and looking down at a certain spot in the talent class.
No sooner had he spoken than the new students started clapping and looked towards the talent class curiously, wondering who Li Moyu was.
Meanwhile, the new students from the talent class were all looking at the blond-haired male student with surprise faces.