Chapter 16
Who could have guessed?
Even when he was playing a game, he still had to grind away on a research paper.
If it were just an ordinary game, Tang Xiao definitely wouldn't do this. Come on, if he wanted to study properly, couldn't he do that in real life?
But thinking of how unusual this game was, and 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'd assumed the information wouldn't be easy to find, but to his surprise, he came across quite a few related 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 shaped the course of ancient wars several times, and in modern times, they had sparked issues like 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 peculiar fungus could infect mammals and turn them into vectors. Infected life forms lost their minds and attacked their own kind nonstop, much like a zombie outbreak in movies and TV shows.
Eventually, the disease spread to humans and caused a tremendous disaster. All national governments collapsed, leaving only a single human alliance. In the end, the world became one where fungi had overrun the wilderness and humanity was confined to the cities.
A hundred years ago, there were more than two billion people in the world. Now only 100 million remained, and that number was still falling. Humanity simply couldn't stand against 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 really could control or even influence fungi, it might truly be the key to changing humanity's future.
And could 428 do that? The main quest had already revealed it: 428's final evolutionary form was the King of Fungi. Wasn't that 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 be the savior of this world!
Then his gaze fell on the document he'd just created...
Damn, was it really going to be this realistic? Weren't the protagonists in other zombie-apocalypse stories all mercenaries escorting important test subjects? Why was he the researcher in charge?
But there was no way to change 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 grinding on his paper and conducting experiments. Whenever the other scholars took a break, he recorded 428's current data and read papers in related fields. He was so busy he lost track of time, and before he knew it, it was time to go back to school.
Tang Xiao's eldest brother had left home before the holiday was even over. Tang Xiao also had to move out of his family's home and back to his rented apartment, then return to school.
Early in the morning, Tang Xiao walked to the door with 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 told him he'd been staying up late gaming every day, and he immediately looked displeased. “All you do is play games. You've achieved a little and now you're getting carried away.”
Tang Xiao froze, then protested, feeling wronged. “You don't understand. I've been studying!”
“Do you think I'm an idiot?” Tang Xiao's father rolled his eyes. “You're wearing a VR headset every day. Are you studying in the game? Which one of us is the idiot, you or me?”
Tang Xiao: “...”
“You remember what you promised me before, right?”
Tang Xiao clearly paused, but before his father's expression darkened, he dug the memory out from some corner of his mind. “Of course I remember. Don't worry! Just wait for my good news.”
“Hmph.” Tang Xiao's father was skeptical. “Professor Li and I go way back. I'll have him keep an eye on you. Don't think you can skip 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 Old Man Li's. Tang Xiao hurried back to the dorm to drop off some snacks. As soon as he opened the door, his roommates looked 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, finding it both funny and exasperating.
“Baldy bet us 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 said, picking up his textbook and walking to the door. Seeing the three still in 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. It's just that my dad said if I get full marks on the final exams, he'll stop bothering me about playing games.”
“Wait, full marks? That's a pretty tough condition!”
“It's not that bad.” Tang Xiao thought about 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 and couldn't be bothered to argue. “You'll see at the end of the semester.”
Level 1 biology knowledge already encompassed the entire undergraduate curriculum. Tang Xiao could take the exam right now and still get full marks.
But he wasn't smug about it. After all, this was just a byproduct of the game. In his view, if the game ever officially launched, it might change the 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 knuckle down.
But they didn't dwell on it for long. Soon, they left the dorm to get ready for class.
It was still Old Man Li's class, but this time it was a lab instead of a lecture. Even Tang Xiao felt a little unfamiliar when he followed the trio to the lab building. The lab classes had only started recently this semester, and unfortunately, he'd skipped several...
“Hey, what's that in your hand?” Baldy asked curiously, looking at the bound notebook Tang Xiao was carrying.
“Nothing. Just some stuff I want to show Old Man Li,” Tang Xiao said vaguely.
“Tsk, Xiao Xiao.”
“What?”
“I'm starting to believe you've really turned over a new leaf,” Baldy said half-jokingly.
“Get lost. I'm going to be a force to be reckoned with in the gaming world.”
They chatted and joked as they quickly reached the lab. Just as they entered, someone behind them hurried forward and squeezed in alongside Tang Xiao and Baldy. The lab entrance wasn't wide enough for two guys to enter side by side, and luckily Baldy reacted quickly and fell back, avoiding a collision.
The man bumped Tang Xiao's shoulder, stepped into the lab first, then glanced back at Baldy and Tang Xiao before acting as if he hadn't seen them and walking into the classroom to sit down.
Baldy immediately flared up. “Are you blind? Can't you see someone there?”
“You were in my way,” the man said 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 squinted as he complained, “His name's Xu Xianglei. He's the top student in our class, but he's got no social skills and he's really arrogant. I heard his family is pretty well-off. 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 leash on him. He'd only occasionally met the sons of executives from partner companies at annual company parties or other banquets, but he never hung out with them.
Aside from that little incident, nothing else happened. Soon, the lab classroom 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 his arm.
“Oh, is everyone here? Class monitor, check.”
“Everyone's here.”
There were fewer students in the class for their major. The class monitor stood up and looked around, pausing for a second over the area where Tang Xiao and his roommates sat, then called out loudly.
“All right, let's hand back the results from this test,” Old Man Li said with 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'd just had a minor conflict with Tang Xiao's group stood up and calmly walked to the front to take his paper.
“Not bad. You must have been reviewing regularly.” Old Man Li handed Xu Xianglei his test with a smile. “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 test and returned to his seat.
“Next, Xin Xintong...”
One student after another stood and collected their test papers, but Tang Xiao's name still hadn't been called. He already knew what score he got, so he didn't react. His roommates, however, seemed to misunderstand 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, it was Sha Seng's turn. His real name was “Wei Heyuan.”
By then, Sha Seng had received a failing grade. Old Man Li's expression grew serious. “Go back and study properly. These are all things from the textbook.”
Sha Seng scratched his head and acknowledged it.
At the end, Tang Xiao was the only one who 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 erupted in complaints, everyone shouting, “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 whipped his head toward Tang Xiao. Xu Xianglei also looked up, astonished.
Could it be...?!
“There's still one student who hasn't gotten 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 could only stand up helplessly and walk to the lectern.
Old Man Li smiled as he handed Tang Xiao his test. Once Tang Xiao returned to his seat, he addressed everyone in the room. “Look, 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 led the applause from below. Tang Xiao nearly lost his composure and blushed bright red. He took the test and quickly returned to his seat.
But just as he sat down, he suddenly felt a piercing gaze from nearby. He instinctively looked in its direction, and Xu Xianglei immediately turned his head away.
Tang Xiao: ? What was that about?
Looking at the 92-point paper in his hand, Xu Xianglei gritted his teeth. The score he'd been pleased with just moments ago now seemed glaring.
He was sure the test was 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 subject matter was broader, and there was more to memorize.
Professor Li's class was even worse because he liked to test students on textbook material and sometimes included obscure facts. Xu Xianglei had lost points in exactly that area, since it had little to do with the work in his current lab and he hadn't paid much attention to it.
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 is already set up. First, watch the teaching assistant do it once.” With that, Professor Li strolled aside, leaving the researcher assisting as a teaching assistant to demonstrate.
The diligent graduate student went up to the front to demonstrate for all the newbies. Everyone watched the TA's movements intently, and some even took notes.
Once the TA had nearly finished, everyone started working. The class was divided into groups by dorm, with each group sharing equipment.
Xu Xianglei took a deep breath, stuffed the somewhat irritating test into his bag, glanced at Tang Xiao again, and started the experiment.
He was highly competitive. He'd started competing for recommendation-based admission to graduate school early, and couldn't stand anyone working harder than him. He saw everyone around him as a rival. Although he didn't know why Tang Xiao had suddenly started studying hard again, at least he couldn't possibly be good at lab work. He'd barely attended any previous lab classes, and no one had heard of him joining a lab.
Biology was, after all, an experimental discipline. No matter how well someone memorized textbook facts, very little of that was useful in research. He had nothing to worry about...
At that thought, he stopped looking over at Tang Xiao and focused on his own experiment.