Chapter 3: Relationships |
Once the homeroom teacher left the classroom, the other students instinctively looked at the two representatives in the front row. There was no way around it; after all, they were the class monitor and the martial arts representative.
Seeing this, the two students were not shy as they walked onto the stage. Instantly, the beautiful class monitor caught the eyes of many male students.
"I am Lin Xue. As the monitor of Class Three, I hope everyone can actively cooperate to fulfill the tasks assigned to us in the future." Lin Xue swept her gaze across everyone, emanating an inexplicable sense of authority that made many students hesitant to meet her eyes.
The male student smiled and said, "Hello, everyone. My name is Yi Rui. For the upcoming semester, we’ll all be classmates. I hope we can help each other and work together to get through a wonderful first semester. Now, we need to go pick up our study materials, and we could use some assistance. Any volunteers?"
"Me."
"I’ll go too."
"And me…"
Many male students promptly stood up, displaying great enthusiasm.
Freshman year was indeed the most wonderful age. Even though Lin Xue seemed a bit aloof and had a commanding presence, her beauty was hard to ignore.
The male student in front of Chen Chu clicked his tongue and said, "They’ve appointed the class monitor and the martial arts representative without even asking for names. I’m sure there’s some kind of behind-the-scenes deal going on."
"Behind-the-scenes deal for a class monitor? Is that really necessary?" Chen Chu expressed some surprise.
The male student turned back with a meaningful look and murmured, "You’re underestimating the roles of class representatives in high school. These two positions are not as simple as they seem."
Then, the young man introduced himself with a cheerful smile. "Hey, buddy, I’m Xia Youhui. I went to Shiyan Third Middle School. How about you?"
Chen Chu replied succinctly, "Chen Chu, from Lingshan First Middle School."
"Lingshan First Middle School, huh? The scenery there is nice; I visited once."
Chen Chu looked at this seemingly simple and honest young man, finding himself curious. "Xia Youhui, are there any differences between high school class cadres and those in middle school?"
"There is a huge difference," Xia Youhui said with a hint of envy. "According to national regulations, everyone can learn real martial arts in high school. But you have to understand, a class has dozens or even hundreds of students learning together, and a grade has one or two thousand. With things being as they are, the martial arts teachers definitely can’t give individual attention to every student.
"This is when the role of class monitors becomes important. Because they’re class representatives, they can just go and ask the teachers for personal guidance.Then, with a bit of guidance from the teacher on cultivation techniques to add to their own personal experiences, they can slowly overtake the other students. And the better their performance, the more attention they receive from the school and even the authorities, so they will get more resources. Basically, they are now ahead and the more they get ahead, the faster they go.."
"I see." With this explanation, Chen Chu understood why the student in front of him mentioned the possibility of some behind-the-scenes dealings. For such important positions, it was indeed strange that the homeroom teacher had designated those two students without even asking for their names.
Xia Youhui whispered, "It’s not just that. I heard that in high school martial arts classes, the class cadres receive contribution point rewards every month."
"Contribution points? What are those?" Chen Chu was a bit puzzled. He didn’t know about these things.
Xia Youhui shook his head. "It’s an important resource for practicing martial arts. I heard about it from my brother. He asked me to earn some whenever there’s a chance after I am done with high school."
Xia Youhui was evidently the outgoing type. After chatting with Chen Chu, he turned around and went back to talking to the girl in front. Soon, he began mingling with the classmates around him.
Other students in the classroom were doing the same. On the first day of school, everyone felt curious about the new environment. Only a few people, like Chen Chu, sat there quietly, observing their surroundings.
Soon, Lin Xue and Yi Rui returned with the volunteers, carrying various packages. After distributing the textbooks, many students left the classroom, walking in small groups to familiarize themselves with the campus. There were many people gathered around the class monitor Lin Xue and the martial arts representative Yi Rui.
Chen Chu, on the other hand, chose to go home. He needed to buy food for his six-horned salamander. On the way, he stopped at the farmers’ market and found a seafood stall.
"Boss, how much is this shrimp?"
"Twenty per catty[1]."
Chen Chu paused, then pointed to the small fish lying in a basket on the ground. "What about these small white ones?"
"Five yuan."
"Give me ten catties of those, please." With only Zhang Xiaolan having an income at home, the financial pressure resulted in Chen Chu naturally trying to save wherever he could.
After scanning the QR code to pay, Chen Chu carried the fish and some vegetables for lunch and dinner as he walked out of the market.
Zhang Xiaolan went to work very early every day and returned very late at night. Therefore, most of the time, Chen Chu was responsible for preparing dinner, and Chen Hu took care of washing the dishes.
By the time he got home, it was just past ten in the morning, and Chen Hu had not returned yet. Chen Chu put all but one catty of the small fish in the freezer, cleaning and gutting the remaining catty before chopping them into small pieces. He made sure to be thorough; it was for his own consumption, after all.
Without anything to eat since the morning, the salamander avatar’s hunger had become unbearable. Chen Chu had felt the intense hunger transmitted by the avatar on his way back.
Chen Chu carried the plate of fish upstairs. On the table, the white salamander’s small eyes, which resembled black sesame seeds, rolled around, giving it a somewhat cute and silly appearance.
Chen Chu’s consciousness shifted, focusing on the salamander as it lazily laid there. Suddenly, it stood up and trotted over to the plate, eagerly starting to eat.
Whether it was due to insufficient spiritual power or the result of sharing a common consciousness, the salamander avatar would become lethargic whenever Chen Chu focused on himself. Although it didn’t come to a complete halt, its responses would become sluggish. When he controlled the avatar with his consciousness, it would affect his human body in a similar manner. It was impossible to simultaneously and effortlessly control both bodies.
With no idea of how to solve this issue currently, he could only hope to develop the ability to multitask in the future.
As Chen Chu pondered, the six-horned salamander, controlled by his consciousness, devoured the pieces of fish. As soon as the meat entered its stomach, it was digested at an astonishing speed, transforming into faint warm currents that spread throughout its body and nourished it. The salamander’s white body then grew at a visible rate.
The digestive capability of the salamander avatar was formidable. Every time it consumed an amount of food equivalent to its body weight, it would grow by one centimeter, and the process would repeat. It would only enter a buffering period after accumulating one evolution point.
According to Chen Chu’s observations, the avatar’s size could increase by four centimeters in a day, earning two evolution points. With the consumption of two catties of food, it would only take a few days to meet the requirements for the first evolution.
"I wonder what the six-horned salamander will evolve into—a giant six-horned salamander? Or will it evolve into a six-horned dragon?"
1. The catty, also known as "jin" in Chinese, is a traditional unit of weight in East Asia. One catty is equivalent to approximately 0.6 kilograms or 600 grams. It is commonly used in marketplaces and for selling goods in China and other East Asian countries. ☜
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