Chapter 19: Shihu Town

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Shihu Town

Early the next morning.

Ji Zhixing got up early and put on the backpack his mother had prepared the night before. Inside were food, water, and some emergency medical supplies.

"Zhixing, you must be careful when you leave the city," Zhang Yulan stood at the door, her eyes filled with worry. "Don’t rush too far ahead when you encounter genetic beasts. Please pay attention to your safety."

"Mom, don’t worry." Ji Zhixing smiled. "There are a lot of us going together, and the seniors from the genetic university are leading the team. Nothing will happen."

Zhang Yulan nodded and gave him a few more instructions before letting him leave.

Stepping out of Tingyu Garden, Liu Qifan was already waiting at the gate.

"Zhixing, over here!" Liu Qifan, carrying a large backpack, waved at him. The two of them walked side by side toward the school.

On the way, Liu Qifan chattered away excitedly. "Zhixing, do you think we can hunt a genetic beast today? If we do, I wonder if we can refine a piece of Genetic Equipment from it. If not equipment, a bottle of genetic potion would be fine too!"

Ji Zhixing smiled. "There’s definitely hope," he said, not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm. Whether it was Genetic Equipment or a genetic potion, neither was that easy to produce.

Liu Qifan nodded, his eyes filled with excitement.

When they arrived at the school, quite a few people had already gathered on the sports field. Yu City Third Middle School had a total of five Genetic Cultivator classes. For today’s activity, all the students from the five classes—over one hundred and fifty in total—were present. Besides them, some students from the standard academic classes were watching from afar, their eyes full of envy.

Ji Zhixing swept his gaze over the crowd and quickly found Zhang Haoceng, Luo Yongguang, and Xie Jia.

"Over here!" Zhang Haoceng waved.

Ji Zhixing and Liu Qifan walked over, and the five of them gathered together.

"We were just waiting for you," Zhang Haoceng said with a smile. "So, are you nervous?"

"What’s there to be nervous about? I’m only excited!" Liu Qifan chuckled. "When we run into a genetic beast, I’ll be the first to charge in."

"Don’t get too worked up." Zhang Haoceng poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "Just make sure your legs don’t turn to jelly when the time comes."

"That definitely won’t be me!" Liu Qifan glared at him.

The group chatted and laughed, the atmosphere light and relaxed. Only Xie Jia looked a little timid.

Ji Zhixing scanned the square and saw that the other squads had also lined up. Everyone was arranged in their respective squads. At a glance, there were about thirty squads, each consisting of five members. Among them, the members of Huang Yu and Yu Zhirou’s squads were all people from other classes who had fused with tier-two genes ahead of time.

"Thirty-some squads, over one hundred and fifty people," Ji Zhixing thought to himself. "I wonder how many will actually manage to hunt a genetic beast today."

Before long, the ROAR of engines came from outside the school gates.

"The seniors from Yu City Genetic University are here!"

Everyone turned to look as a mid-sized bus drove onto the campus and came to a steady halt. The doors opened, and over thirty people stepped off the bus. There were both men and women, all wearing uniform dark blue outfits embroidered with the crest of Yu City Genetic University on their chests.

As Ji Zhixing’s gaze swept over the group, he suddenly froze. In the crowd, he spotted a familiar figure.

Who else could that tall, somewhat ugly young man be but Chen Ye?

Ji Zhixing remembered that day at Tingyu Garden when Chen Ye had said, "Maybe we’ll see each other again in a while." So this was what he meant.

Liu Qifan also recognized him and widened his eyes. "Isn’t that Chen Ye from our neighborhood? What is he doing here?"

Ji Zhixing shook his head.

At this moment, Principal Zhou Chenghong led a few teachers over to greet them.

"Welcome, welcome!" Principal Zhou’s face was covered in a beaming smile as he hurried up to the students. His gaze fell directly on Chen Ye. "Chen Ye, we’ll be troubling you this time."

Chen Ye smiled and nodded. "You’re too polite, Principal Zhou. It’s for my alma mater, so it’s only right."

Principal Zhou greeted the other students one by one, but he was clearly exceptionally polite to Chen Ye. Even though all these students had graduated from Yu City Third Middle School and entered the genetic university, Chen Ye had fused with a tier-four gene. His future accomplishments would be limitless, so naturally, he received special treatment.

Watching from afar, Ji Zhixing thought to himself, "A tier-four gene really is different. Even the principal is so polite."

After Chen Ye and Principal Zhou exchanged a few pleasantries, the homeroom teachers of each class led several seniors from the genetic university toward their respective squads.

A pretty girl with a ponytail, looking to be in her twenties, was assigned to their squad. She walked over with a smile.

"Hello. I’m Zhao Qing. I graduated from Yu City Third Middle School last year, and now I’m a freshman at Yu City Genetic University. I’ll be in charge of guiding your squad this time.

"I’ve fused with the tier-two Nether Shadow Cat gene. Although I’m currently only a Tier One Gene Cultivator, it should be more than enough to take you out of the city for training."

"You’re being modest, Senior," Zhang Haoceng sweet-talked. "You’ve fused with a tier-two gene and trained at Yu City Genetic University for a year. You must be amazing."

Zhao Qing smiled. "Alright, save the flattery. We’ll be setting off shortly. Are you ready?"

"We’re ready!" they replied in unison.

Zhao Qing nodded. After briefly asking about their respective abilities, she told them to wait where they were.

Soon, every squad was assigned a senior guide. Under the school’s organization, everyone lined up and boarded the buses.

"Let’s go!"

The convoy slowly drove out of Yu City Third Middle School, passing through the urban district as it headed out of Yu City Base City.

Ji Zhixing sat by the window, watching the street scenes blur past. Along both sides of the street were various shops and residential buildings. Pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks. Everything looked completely ordinary.

"Once we’re out of the city, things will be different," Ji Zhixing thought to himself.

The convoy drove for about half an hour before passing by a middle school.

"It’s Yu City Middle School!" someone pointed out the window.

Ji Zhixing turned to look and saw a sprawling school campus come into view. The school gate was tall and majestic, with the words "Yu City Middle School" emblazoned across it. The campus was shaded by green trees, and the teaching buildings were brand-new and imposing—countless times better than Yu City Third Middle School.

"Yu City Middle School..." Ji Zhixing murmured, watching quietly.

Yu City Middle School was the best middle school in Yu City Base City, as well as the affiliated middle school of Yu City Genetic University. However, only those who had awakened tier-two gene nodes or higher were qualified to enroll there. As long as nothing unexpected happened, the students of Yu City Middle School were practically guaranteed to enter Yu City Genetic University for further studies.

But the students of their Yu City Third Middle School had all awakened late. They were initially regular academic students who only awakened their gene nodes later on. Take him, for example; he had only awakened his twin gene nodes half a year after entering Yu City Third Middle School.

The others in his class were in a similar boat, while the students in the other genetic classes had awakened slightly earlier. At Yu City Third Middle School, a student who awakened a tier-two gene node was considered a genius. But at Yu City Middle School, there were over two thousand people who awakened tier-two gene nodes every year.

"What a massive gap," Ji Zhixing thought to himself. He withdrew his gaze and stopped looking.

The convoy continued onward, soon arriving at the foot of the base city’s walls. The towering walls were dozens of meters high—thick, sturdy, and keeping the entire city firmly protected within. Soldiers patrolled the top of the walls at all times, guarding against the genetic beasts outside.

As the convoy passed through the city gates and drove out of the base city, a vast wilderness revealed itself outside.

"So this is outside the city..." Liu Qifan pressed against the window, gazing out in excitement. "This is my first time leaving the city!"

The others were equally thrilled, chattering and discussing animatedly.

Zhao Qing, sitting in the front, glanced back at them and chuckled. "Don’t get too excited. You’ll understand how fierce it can be once you see a genetic beast."

The convoy proceeded down the road. The journey was quite peaceful, and only occasionally could they spot a few low-tier genetic beasts on the side of the road. Creatures like the Gray-Tailed Rabbit and Blue-Feathered Chicken would scatter into hiding the moment they saw the convoy from afar.

"Those genetic beasts are very timid. They don’t dare to get close," Zhao Qing explained. "But once we reach our destination, it will be a different story."

"Destination?" Xie Jia asked. "Senior, can you tell us about Shihu Town?"

They only knew that their destination for hunting genetic beasts was a place called Shihu Town, but they had no idea about the specific situation there. Ji Zhixing’s interest was also piqued, and he looked toward Zhao Qing.

Zhao Qing nodded. "I’ve been to Shihu Town. People were still living there over a decade ago. There’s a small lake to the south of the town, and in the center of the lake, there used to be an Otherworldly Secret Realm that produced a massive amount of precious ores.

"Later, that Otherworldly Secret Realm vanished. After a few beast tide riots, all the town’s residents relocated into the base city.

"Now, it’s an abandoned town frequently roamed by low-tier genetic beasts, making it suitable for beginners like you to train."