Yun Ning’s ability was strikingly similar to the ‘system’ often depicted in novels Huang Xiu had read, save for the absence of material rewards.
It was no wonder, then, that it was named [Player].
Huang Xiu thoughtfully rubbed her chin, a sudden memory surfacing: Yun Ning had once mentioned that his grades during his freshman year were not particularly good.
“I recall Senior Male Student Yun receiving some sort of Tiandu Progress Award during the opening ceremony,” she mused. “They said he improved by over a hundred ranks.”
Huang Xiu’s gaze upon Yun Ning instantly became peculiar.
If she hadn’t known with absolute certainty that this world was, in fact, reality, she would have suspected this seemingly earnest man with thick eyebrows of being the male protagonist of this very world.
“Senior Male Student, your ability is truly remarkable, with limitless potential! Hearing about it, I can’t help but feel a touch of envy.”
A pang of sourness twisted in Huang Xiu’s heart.
The reason people struggle to persevere in tasks they aren’t skilled at is often the lack of immediate feedback.
However, with an ability that provides such strong positive reinforcement, anything one undertakes should yield results with half the effort, shouldn’t it?
As a child, her parents had enrolled her in various training institutions to learn talents like piano and street dance.
Yet, the training was always too exhausting, and progress too slow, inevitably leading to her giving up after inconsistent efforts.
Yun Ning offered a faint smile. “Junior Female Student, there’s no need to envy my ability. Your [Senluo], in my opinion, is far superior to mine.”
“[Player] isn’t as perfect as you might imagine, Junior Female Student; it comes with many limitations.”
“Let me tell you the most obvious one. Not just any task can yield rewards; the difficulty of the task must be set according to my current strength.”
“This means that as my physical fitness improves, I must constantly increase the difficulty of my training tasks to continue making gains.”
“Even so, I believe [Player] remains a very powerful ability,” Huang Xiu stated earnestly.
Perhaps one day, the difficulty of the daily tasks would become so high that even Yun Ning would be unable to complete them. That would likely be the limit of [Player].
By then, however, Yun Ning would probably have achieved comprehensive improvement, becoming what one might call a ‘superhuman.’
And no wonder Professor Yuan accepted Yun Ning as his student; that old scoundrel certainly had a knack for picking students, Huang Xiu thought, feeling a little irritated. Why did Old Scoundrel Yuan get all the good things?
“Yes, I’m also very satisfied with my ability, not because of its future prospects, but because of its very essence.”
Yun Ning clenched his fist, a resolute expression on his face. “To me, [Player] isn’t just an ability; it’s the manifestation of hard work being rewarded. You reap what you sow, and nothing suits me better than that.”
“Moreover,” his voice softened slightly, “what grows with it is not only my strength but also my spirit, allowing me to forget my past disgraces.”
“What disgraces?” Huang Xiu asked, curious.
“Nothing at all.”
Realizing his emotions had gotten the better of him, leading him to speak of things he shouldn’t have, Yun Ning quickly brushed it off with a smile. “It was just my poor grades in the past that were disgraceful.”
“Alright then.” Huang Xiu puffed out her cheeks, clearly unconvinced by Yun Ning’s words.
In truth, she wasn’t overly concerned. Everyone had regrettable pasts; since Yun Ning didn’t wish to speak of it, she would let it be.
Allowing each other a bit of privacy was essential for maintaining a good relationship.
After their morning run, Yun Ning still had other daily exercises to complete.
Huang Xiu asked how long it would take, thinking she might wait nearby if it wasn’t too long.
She asked, and to her surprise, she learned that unless he was on a mission, Yun Ning exercised every morning from five to eight o’clock.
After their run, it was only a little past six. With two more hours of exercise remaining, Huang Xiu realized she couldn’t simply ‘fish around’ and wait, so she reluctantly returned alone.
After eating her own breakfast at the cafeteria, she packed two more portions to bring to Ying Zhiyu and Jia Qianrou.
Huang Xiu had initially imagined that upon waking, the two would be moved to tears by the sight of steaming buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk on the table, clinging to her leg and lamenting that only ‘Daddy’ was good in this world.
But to her surprise, their reactions were more outlandish than the last.
“Something’s not right.” Ying Zhiyu pulled at the plastic bag, her face etched with suspicion. “Sister Xiu, who gave you these buns?”
“I brought them myself!” Huang Xiu pointed to herself. “Who else do you think would bring you buns?!”
“Did the cafeteria’s buns go on sale?” Ying Zhiyu asked. “Sister Xiu, don’t blame me for not believing you, but you never wake up before ten on a Saturday or Sunday.”
“Exactly,” Jia Qianrou echoed. “If we don’t bring you breakfast, you’d even skip it on weekends and just lie in bed all morning.”
Having her true nature ruthlessly exposed by the two, Huang Xiu blushed slightly, then grew annoyed.
“Who in their right mind wakes up early on a weekend? After a week of hard work, not sleeping in on a weekend would be a total waste!”
“I was just passing by today, so what’s wrong with bringing you food?”
“Fine, that’s perfectly fine!” Ying Zhiyu mumbled, her words slightly indistinct.
“Passing by?” Jia Qianrou’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What were you doing out so early in the morning?”
Huang Xiu, suspecting nothing, replied directly, “Just out for a morning run.”
“After being so exhausted yesterday, Sister Xiu, you actually had the energy to go for a morning run?! That’s too competitive, far too competitive!”
Ying Zhiyu’s face bore an exaggerated expression, as if to say, ‘You’re definitely not Sister Xiu; who are you?’ “Sister Xiu, are you trying to kill us with your competitiveness?”
“Did you go for a morning run with Senior Male Student Yun?” Jia Qianrou probed.
“Huh? How did you know?” Huang Xiu’s eyes widened slightly.
‘It’s already progressed to this point…’ Jia Qianrou suddenly felt as though her carefully nurtured little cabbage had grown legs and run off to be ‘wooed’ by a pig.
She sighed silently and replied, “It’s the pig’s fault.”
‘Huang Xiu, that lazybones, would never go for a morning run alone. Someone close to her must have called her, and among those around her who are so disciplined… only Yun Ning fits the bill.’
“Ah Xiu, a girl should be a little more reserved,” Jia Qianrou gently advised Huang Xiu.
She felt that if things continued to develop this way, her roommate might be ‘taken’ before long, so she decided to have a frank discussion.
“Reserved?” Huang Xiu initially didn’t understand, but seeing Ying Zhiyu’s playful gaze, she suddenly realized, and a flush of shame rose within her.
“I was just bored, so I went for a morning run with Senior Male Student. What are you two, whose minds are only filled with romance, even thinking?!”
Her face red, she spoke rapidly, “Senior Male Student and I are merely pure friends and senior-junior schoolmates!”
“Is that so?” Jia Qianrou shook her head, her tone unusually calm. “I suppose I believe you.”
“Boys and girls *can* have a pure friendship, you know!” Huang Xiu felt like a summer insect unable to comprehend ice, and without waiting for their replies, she retreated to her bedroom.
Bang!
Jia Qianrou turned to look at Ying Zhiyu, who was still eating breakfast.
“Do you believe her, Xiao Yu?”
“No!” Ying Zhiyu shook her head.
“Even such a foolishly adorable Xiao Yu doesn’t believe her, so how can you expect me to?” Jia Qianrou sighed and resumed eating her breakfast.
“I’m not foolish!” Ying Zhiyu mumbled in protest. “Honestly, why do you always slander me?”
In the bedroom, Huang Xiu was still a little upset and decided to play some games.
She logged onto her main account, played a few rounds, and seeing that enough time had passed and Yun Ning should have finished his morning exercises and breakfast, she pulled out her phone and sent a message.
[I’m Super Fast: Log on, log on!]
[Yun Ning: Received]
She switched to her alt account, put on her headphones, and then happily queued up for a duo with Yun Ning.
At lunchtime, Huang Xiu reluctantly said goodbye to Yun Ning and picked up her phone.
She discovered that Fang Miaoging had sent her several messages during the time she was busy playing games and hadn’t checked her phone.
[Azure Sun: Xiu Xiu, the plant enhancement project has progressed. Your ‘de-mutated’ plant has already borne fruit, and we can try selecting seeds for the second generation. Do you want to come see?]
“Hmm? It’s already borne fruit?” Huang Xiu’s expression became excited.
The importance of the plant enhancement project to her was self-evident.
Since the second experiment began, she had visited Fang Miaoging’s dorm almost every week.
It was only in the last two weeks that her studies had been too demanding, preventing her from going. Yet, a surprise had unfolded.
She immediately messaged Fang Miaoging.
[I’m Super Fast: I’ll be there around one after lunch.]
Fang Miaoging was likely looking at her phone, as she immediately replied with an ‘OK.’
Huang Xiu immediately called Ying Zhiyu and Jia Qianrou, then rushed to the school cafeteria for lunch.
Yet, even though it was the weekend, the cafeteria was still crowded.
A thought struck her, and she looked up at the display screen in the center of the cafeteria. Sure enough, she saw the limited-supply pork chops.
“A Rou, the pork chops you’re eating today might even be from a pig I personally killed!” Huang Xiu turned to complain.
She hadn’t expected that the Three-Month Pig meat from the combat training, which had only ended early that morning, would be served for lunch today. She couldn’t help but marvel at the school’s efficiency.
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to give it a good try,” Jia Qianrou said with a faint smile.
The combat instructor for her Class Two was not Teacher Yuan, so they hadn’t had any ‘weapons combat practical training.’ She had missed the chance for an overnight adventure with the Three-Month Pigs.
“A Rou, let me tell you, the Three-Month Pigs were really fierce!” While waiting in line, Ying Zhiyu recounted the details of last night’s practical training to Jia Qianrou.
She had probably been traumatized by being ‘wooed’ last night, greatly exaggerating the Three-Month Pigs’ strength. If Huang Xiu hadn’t personally slaughtered three of them, she might have even believed they were Gold Rank Void Realm creatures.
After lunch, Huang Xiu parted ways with Jia Qianrou and Ying Zhiyu and immediately rushed to Fang Miaoging’s dorm.
Upon entering, she greeted Fang Miaoging and then looked at the potted plants she had been eagerly anticipating.
In the earthy-brown plastic pot, the leaves of the everbearing strawberries were verdant green.
Over twenty large, pink strawberries weighed down the branches, causing them to droop towards the dark soil. A gentle breeze carried a rich strawberry fragrance through the air.
“Normally, everbearing strawberries can yield an average of twenty fruits per harvest, but that’s only possible under excellent conditions of temperature, humidity, and sunlight,” Fang Miaoging whispered from beside her.
“For this project, she specifically studied a lot about planting, especially strawberries and kumquats.”
“Doesn’t that mean the de-mutated plant didn’t inherit the properties from when I was mutated?” Huang Xiu frowned slightly.
Regular everbearing strawberries could also yield twenty fruits, and her de-mutated strawberries also had over twenty, so there was no difference.
“No, Xiu Xiu, you’re mistaken,” Fang Miaoging said with a smile, explaining, “While everbearing strawberries can bear twenty fruits, those twenty fruits often suffer from insufficient nutrient supply, resulting in smaller, less mature fruits.”
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiu instantly understood Fang Miaoging’s meaning.
“Although the de-mutated everbearing strawberries also only produce over twenty fruits, they can guarantee that every single one is a high-quality strawberry.”
“This indicates that the de-mutated everbearing strawberries most likely inherited a small portion of the properties she imbued during her mutation, such as a high yield rate and…”
Huang Xiu turned to look at the ordinary everbearing strawberries nearby. Even after seven weeks, there were only a few tiny, unripe strawberries, nowhere near maturity.
“The de-mutated strawberries seem to have inherited the high yield rate and a longer, faster growth cycle from the mutation?” Huang Xiu asked Fang Miaoging.
“I believe that’s the case,” Fang Miaoging said, pointing to the de-mutated kumquats beside them. “Look at these de-mutated kumquats; even though they aren’t fully ripe yet, they have many more fruits than ordinary kumquats.”
Huang Xiu turned to look, and it was indeed true. The de-mutated kumquats had as many green fruits as leaves, and while the ordinary kumquats also had many green fruits, the two were clearly not on the same scale.
“So the de-mutated kumquats inherited the multi-fruit characteristic…”
“Exactly. My current hypothesis is that de-mutated plants can likely only inherit a portion of the characteristics from their mutation.”
Fang Miaoging’s voice was slightly excited. “Xiu Xiu, if we continue to cultivate the de-mutated everbearing strawberries and the second generation also inherits those mutated properties, then this project will be a success.”
“At that time, A Qing, you will be the greatest contributor,” Huang Xiu said, patting Fang Miaoging’s shoulder with a serious expression.
Fang Miaoging had handled almost all the work for these potted plants herself. It was absolutely no exaggeration to say she was the greatest contributor.
“Then, Xiu Xiu, you’ll be the second greatest contributor!” Fang Miaoging accepted Huang Xiu’s praise without any false modesty; she was naturally that kind of person.
“Aren’t you going to give your great contributor a back rub?” she teased.
Huang Xiu, in high spirits, smiled and massaged Fang Miaoging’s back for a while.
Afterward, she and Fang Miaoging went to check on the mutated strawberries and kumquats—Fang Miaoging had placed them in her bedroom, fearing that keeping mutated and de-mutated plants together might cause interference.
Squatting on the ground, Huang Xiu observed the mutated strawberries and kumquats. All four potted plants had now borne fruit; the strawberries were enticingly pink, and the kumquats were golden and plump. A slight sniff filled her nostrils with their rich fragrance.
“Your previous guess was correct, Xiu Xiu. The reason mutated plants wither when they bear fruit is because they lack Void Energy,” Fang Miaoging whispered from behind Huang Xiu.
“Because I once had an example of this nearby,” Huang Xiu said, naturally referring to Huang Xiaoxian.