June 11, 2137, dawn
Xu Tui had woken up in hunger.
Noises were coming from the kitchen. There was also the sound of steam pouring out of the steamer. It instantly made Xu Tui think about steaming meat buns.
They were made by his mother.
He bit into it.
Juices flowed in his mouth.
It was so delicious that he might swallow his tongue.
Xu Tui swallowed consecutively. He did not get off the bed immediately.
Xu Tui knew that the buns were not ready yet at this time.
He easily entered the illusory introspective state.
Xu Tui saw the spot of white light at his lower-left calf and was very satisfied.
Suddenly, he remembered the sensation he got after the genetic base point was activated yesterday.
"Pain in my right hand?"
"Oh, f*ck! Would I be the same as Dating and activate a genetic base point related to hand speed?"
"Darn it! It's the right hand too!"
Xu Tui opened his eyes and started comparing his hand functions.
At this moment, his right hand did feel stronger than his left hand.
Xu Tui could only 'feel' since he did not have any professional testing equipment.
However, most people had stronger right hands anyway.
Xu Tui moved his fingers as if he was playing the piano.
Hand speed…
It didn't seem to have changed.
His right hand was a little faster than his left hand, but the difference was within a normal range.
His strength was also the same as before.
Xu Tui was shocked.
He got off the bed and moved his leg. There was no change.
There have been no changes.
Xu Tui was shocked once again.
Where did the effect of activating the genetic base point in my lower-left calf yesterday night go?
Xu Tui would have accepted reality if activating the genetic base point at the lower-left calf affected the function of his right hand.
He would also have accepted reality if it had affected his hand speed.
However, his fundamental abilities did not change even after he activated the genetic base point.
It did not feel good.
Xu Tui had to accept reality even if it did not feel good.
Even the scientists at the Genetic Research Institute had not fully understood the complicated and varied subject of genetics.
Xu Tui did not have to go to school. He had the rare opportunity of staying in bed for a little longer.
While he was staying in bed, Xu Tui consolidated and reflected on the training he had yesterday.
Consolidation and reflection were good habits, whether they were used in his studies or his training.
Those habits allowed him to accurately determine the gaps in his knowledge and the direction in which he should improve. He could also come up with areas where he had to focus more attention on.
The extreme fatigue he felt before he slept, even the stomach-churning hunger he felt could not overcome, made Xu Tui very confused.
Xu Tui had played games for two days straight when his parents were not home during his first-year winter break. He did not even feel that tired then.
Also, the incident of him fainting two nights before when he activated his 15th genetic base point felt a little strange now that he thought about it.
Xu Tui had thought that he had fainted two nights ago because he bled from all of his orifices after he rushed the 15th genetic base point.
Now, Xu Tui suddenly remembered that he had also bled when he was administered the Genetic Liberation Elixir on the 9th of June. He had bled even more than when he activated his 15th genetic base point.
However, he did not faint then.
He combined the experience with the extreme fatigue he felt after slowly activating the genetic base point at his leg yesterday night.
Xu Tui suddenly realized something. He might not have fainted the previous night because he bled after activating the genetic base point.
It might be because…he had used too much of his mind power.
Yes, mind power!
Xu Tui suddenly thought about that term.
This was a term that had appeared many times in the dramas he chased. It now also applied to Xu Tui.
If that was the case, the feelings of fatigue he felt after depleting his mind power yesterday night would be able to suppress his extreme hunger and cause Xu Tui to fall asleep on the spot.
"That means to say that my ability to activate genetic base points at will is not without a price," Xu Tui deduced. "Other than expending a large amount of physical energy, it also used up my mind power."
Fortunately, Xu Tui seemed to be able to recover his mind power by sleeping.
Currently, Xu Tui felt extremely energetic.
Under such an energetic state, his feelings of hunger felt even more terrifying.
His gut churned.
It started to growl incessantly.
Xu Tui got off the bed.
He brushed his teeth and washed up.
Xu Tui suddenly froze when he saw himself in the mirror.
Was the aloof, handsome man in the mirror whose cheekbones could almost be seen still me, Xu Tui, also called Handsome Xu?
He was too handsome, too aloof, and too skinny.
Xu Tui was over 1.8 meters tall and had a suitable weight of 149 pounds.
It was a physique that made him look skinny with his shirt on but muscular without.
However, at this moment, Xu Tui saw the contoured cheekbones in the mirror, his slightly protruding ribs, and the bulging veins on the back of his palm…
He was not just shocked. He was afraid.
He was not just skinny.
He looked malnourished!
Xu Tui jumped onto the scales as quickly as he could.
The number on the scale changed.
It finally stopped on the number '128'.
"Oh, f*ck! This drop in weight…"
Xu Tui remembered very clearly that he weighed 144 pounds before he fell asleep yesterday. He had even eaten 10 eggs for his training, then followed that up with two pancakes, three packets of instant noodles, and four dragon fruits.
Then, a night of training…
His weight had dropped from 144 pounds to 128 pounds.
Xu Tui felt that he would become the richest man in the world if he could scale this method of losing weight up.
He could charge 100 dollars for helping someone lose one pound.
Xu Tui would become rich as long as 0.001% of the world's overweight population came to him.
'Unfortunately, there's no way I can promote this…'
Not only that, Xu Tui started to become worried about his life.
If he continued to lose weight like this, Xu Tui would become a pile of ashes after he activated two or three more genetic base points.
He walked out of his room and entered the kitchen, still feeling fearful. He had not even touched the buns when Zhang Xiuli let out an exaggerated scream.
Zhang Xiuli didn't speak, but her expression was enough to tell Xu Tui that his mother had seen a different person when she saw him.
Her scream turned into concern.
Xu Tui was definitely her son.
"You... Improvement, why did you become like that? How did you become skin and bones in one night? This… This… How much have you suffered?"
Then she started calling Xu Tui's father, "Jianguo! Xu Jianguo, where the hell are you? Your son is already dying from being too skinny. Why are you not out here?"
Xu Tui felt awkward just listening to his mother.
"Dying from being too skinny," Xu Tui sighed. "Mum, can you let me have some buns first? I'm hungry!"
"Come, eat quickly. It's hot. I'll pull them in half and cool them for you. Just focus on eating!"
…
The family was in chaos because of Xu Tui's sudden and drastic drop in weight.
After demolishing three baskets of buns, Xu Tui no longer felt his stomach churn. He felt much more comfortable and started to slow down the speed at which he devoured the buns. His attention also started to dissipate.
He casually accessed his communication device and projected a small screen. He tapped open his messaging app and was about to read the news and see what his friends were up to.
He had just accessed the app when a piece of breaking news popped up at him.
A third-year student from the Jincheng Prefecture had shown incredible prowess at a bubble tea shop and helped the special agents from the Special Intelligence Division to capture a member of the Dawn Salvation Traitor Organization alive. He had fully displayed the wits, bravery, and charisma of a student from the Jincheng Prefecture.
The comments were full of praises for him.
There was an attached image.
Xu Tui was shouting with one hand on his hip. The two special agents were crouching and pouncing forward. Autumn Pants was squirming on the ground like a cooked shrimp.
"Yes, the attached image showed off my bravery and sense of justice. I look suave even if it's just a picture of my back," Xu Tui commented.
Xu Tui stroked his face, which was so skinny he could almost touch his bone. He was very satisfied.
"It would be perfect if the headline was changed from 'intelligent, brave, and suave' to 'suave, intelligent, and brave'!"
Xu Tui scrolled past the article after he admired the article for a few more minutes.
It was another piece of breaking news.
"Based on a report from a helpful citizen, a teenager had entered a beef steak buffet in the city, but he was politely escorted out of the shop by the boss an hour later with a full refund. The boss also said that they would never entertain that teenager again in the future.
"Coincidentally, the city's Lachongtian Hotpot City also closed early yesterday afternoon after they politely sent a teenager out of their shop.
"Based on a report from a helpful citizen, that teenager had finished his first wave of dishes alone in 15 minutes. Normally, the first wave of dishes would be able to last someone one to two hours.
"A lawyer's opinion: This action is, in essence, illega…"
This piece of news…
Then, Xu Tui saw the attached image.
The image depicted a tall teenager with half his face exposed.
"Oh, f*ck! Isn't this Cheng Mo?"
Xu Tui was shocked.
Cheng Mo was quite smart for going to eat at a buffet.
However, these owners of buffet restaurants were not friendly.
Couldn't they just let Cheng Mo have a nice, full meal?
Xu Tui was not done with breakfast when his communication device vibrated. It was a message from Tang Ting.
"What are you doing?"
Xu Tui smiled. He had just finished his meal and thus video called to both Tang Ting and Cheng Mo.
In the video feed, Cheng Mo's face looked like it had become even rounder.
"Dating, which college did you apply to?" Xu Tui asked.
"Huaxia Genetic Military College," Tang Ting replied.
"Oh, wow! The Genetic Evolution College ranked second in the country. You sure are impressive. Isn't the cut-off score for genetic base points there 10?"
"How did you enroll there? Did you do something at the side?" Cheng Mo shouted exaggeratedly.
"Scram!"
Tang Ting laughed. "Do you guys have time for a meal? We can talk about this then. Based on the regulations, we would have to head off to our respective schools from tomorrow onward. The next three months would be a training period where we are cut off from the outside world."
"Let's gather this afternoon," Xu Tui said.
"No problem. Shall we head to a buffet?" Cheng Mo was the first to give a suggestion.
"We can't!" Xu Tui and Tang Ting rejected the suggestion in unison. It was clear that they had read the news.
"Alright. You guys can choose a location…"
Cheng Mo was a little frustrated. It seemed like he would not be able to eat his fill this afternoon.