Chapter 32: Using the Skill for the First Time

"Human warmth and coldness are as thin as paper, and the ways of the world are like a chess game, ever-changing with every move. The ancients truly did not deceive me..."

Standing beneath the teaching building, Wang Donglai thought of what had happened at the Chenlong Hotel and shook his head, letting out a sigh of emotion.

Previously, when they called him Wang Donglai, their tone had been casual.

Now, they addressed him as "Donglai" with every breath, acting enthusiastic and kind, as if they were old friends of many years.

Even though he had made excuses at the Chenlong Hotel to reject their proposal, their attitude toward him had not changed in the slightest.

If this had been before, it would never have been like this.

Suppressing the thoughts in his heart, Wang Donglai stepped into the teaching building, preparing to enter the classroom to study.

Today was June 4th.

Tomorrow, the examination halls would be set up, inspected, and sealed off, preventing students from approaching them.

Thus, today could be considered the last day of classes for everyone.

After entering the classroom, Wang Donglai sat in his seat and pulled out his books.

However, looking at the book in his hands, he did not immediately begin reading. Instead, he thought back to the question Guo Xing had asked him earlier.

What major should one study in university?

Without the System, he might have chosen an easy major, such as Chinese Language and Literature or Business Administration.

With a rebirth and the foresight of the next decade or so, achieving financial freedom would not be a difficult task.

But after obtaining the System, a seed of ambition had been planted in his heart.

To change the world!

To lead the world!

Just the thought of it made his heart race and his blood boil.

Combined with his past life's experiences, Wang Donglai's soul was already that of a thirty-year-old man; he no longer held illusions about society and had developed his own views and perspectives on many things.

The failure of his previous life had left a deep-seated resentment of unfulfilled potential, which had long since solidified into the fertile soil in which his growing ambition thrived.

"To realize my ambition and change the world, in this society, there are only two paths: politics or business. There is no other way."

"A hundred-billion-dollar conglomerate probably wouldn't even be enough; it would take trillions to achieve the effect I desire."

Possessing memories of the next decade, Wang Donglai formed a plan in just a moment.

"Industry strengthens the nation. To truly change society, I need to walk on two legs."

"In that case, I also need to level up subjects like biology, chemistry, and physics."

"I wonder if raising the level of biology will cause skills or abilities like 'Alchemy' to appear..."

With these thoughts in mind, Wang Donglai did not hesitate. He directly swapped his politics book for a physics book.

"Perfect. I can test this [Photographic Memory] skill and see how effective it is."

With a single thought, Wang Donglai activated the skill.

Once [Speed Reading] and [Photographic Memory] were combined, their extraordinary power was immediately apparent.

The physics book in his hands flipped page after page.

At most, it took him less than ten minutes to finish an entire volume of Compulsory Physics I. After closing the book, Wang Donglai could clearly remember exactly what words were on every line of every page.

"What terrifying efficiency!"

Exclaiming inwardly, Wang Donglai did not stop. He immediately picked up another physics book and began reading.

Because of Wang Qingchen, Wang Donglai had prepared a collection of science books on his desk: high school compulsory physics, biology, chemistry, and everything in between, including electives.

He finished one book and immediately moved to the next.

His speed was incredibly fast, but the effect was terrifying.

It wasn't until three class periods had passed that Wang Donglai finally stopped.

He had finished reading all the compulsory books for physics, chemistry, and biology.

As he set down the biology book, Wang Donglai suddenly felt a momentary lapse. His vision blurred, and then a wave of frantic hunger struck him.

It felt as if he had been starving for days without a drop of water or a grain of rice, so hungry that his entire body began to twitch.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

As his deskmate, Guo Xing was the first to notice something was wrong with Wang Donglai.

In fact, Guo Xing had noticed while Wang Donglai was flipping through those books, but he hadn't said anything.

But seeing Wang Donglai's face turn deathly pale and his body radiating signs of pain, he could no longer sit still.

"Do you have anything to eat? Quick, find me something to eat!"

Wang Donglai said to Guo Xing, enduring the fire-like pain in his stomach.

"I do, I do!"

As he spoke, Guo Xing hurriedly rummaged through his backpack and pulled out some Sachima, two walnut-stuffed dates, and an apple.

Wang Donglai didn't care about anything else; he grabbed the apple and began devouring it in huge bites.

It was currently class time, and although there was no teacher, the classroom was noisy.

However, Wang Donglai's sudden movement still drew quite a bit of attention.

"Eat slowly. I have a bottle of milk here, take a sip first."

Sitting behind him, Chen Mengni also hurriedly handed over a bottle of milk and searched through her own snacks.

Daliyuan mini-breads, beef jerky, dried apricots, eight-treasure porridge—one snack after another was placed into Wang Donglai's hands.

Wang Donglai accepted them all without hesitation, swallowing them down in large gulps.

In just two minutes, he had finished all the snacks brought by Chen Mengni and Guo Xing.

Only then did Wang Donglai slowly breathe a sigh of relief. Although his stomach was still hungry, it was no longer as severe as before.

"How are you? Are you full? Do you want me to find more food for you?"

Guo Xing looked at Wang Donglai with concern, his eyes filled with worry.

"Wang Donglai, what happened to you? Are you feeling unwell? Come, let's go to the hospital to check."

Chen Mengni was also anxious, her worry plain to see.

"It's nothing. I just suddenly got hungry and didn't eat enough. I'm fine now."

Wang Donglai hadn't expected this to happen; activating the skill actually had a cost.

Thinking back to the dizziness and that frantic hunger, Wang Donglai realized that skills were different from abilities.

Abilities were more like passive skills that could be sustained without consumption.

Skills, however, had a cost. Through today's experience, Wang Donglai had learned this, but it wasn't a loss for him.

Guo Xing and Chen Mengni examined Wang Donglai thoroughly and seriously. Finding that his complexion was no longer as pale as before and his spirit had improved significantly, they finally nodded in relief.

"If you really feel unwell, don't try to tough it out. We'll go to the hospital for a check-up immediately."

After a moment's thought, Chen Mengni spoke up again, still feeling uneasy.

"Don't worry, I'm really fine!"

Wang Donglai could hear the genuine care in Chen Mengni's voice. A sense of warmth rose in his heart, and he replied with a smile.

"Alright then. I'll treat you to lunch later. You're not allowed to refuse!"

Chen Mengni spoke very seriously, her tone stern, leaving Wang Donglai no room to decline.

Looking at Chen Mengni's determined eyes and serious expression, Wang Donglai thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Guo Xing's expression dimmed slightly, and he lowered his head without saying a word.

...

A little while later.

Meng Fang arrived at the classroom with a stack of admission tickets.

"These are your admission tickets for the Gaokao. If you want to take them yourselves, come up and collect them and keep them with you. If you don't feel comfortable carrying them, leave them with me, and I will give them to you when it's time for the exam."

"However, for now, take them to check your examination hall. Once the halls are set up, there will be dedicated time for you to familiarize yourselves with them."

"The examination halls are within our school, likely in the Grade 11 Building 1. You can go check the halls yourselves tomorrow afternoon."

"Once you have these admission tickets, make sure to keep them safe. Your ID cards and admission tickets are extremely important over the next two days. Once you've packed them, don't misplace them. Prepare your pens, and be careful with what you eat so you don't upset your stomach."

"Maintain a good mindset. Don't be nervous when the time comes. Every single point can push you past a thousand people. Believe in yourselves!"

Standing at the podium and looking down at the students she had taught for two years, Meng Fang felt a surge of emotion. She repeated her instructions tirelessly.

After speaking, she began distributing the admission tickets.

Soon, everyone had seen their tickets and began conversing, asking each other about their examination halls and seat numbers.

"Which hall are you in? I'm in Hall 14!"

"I'm in Hall 24. These halls are assigned randomly; there's no pattern at all."

"Who is in Hall 34? I'm in Hall 34."

Everyone held their tickets, looking around and asking questions.

Wang Donglai could feel many eyes gathering on him.

At that moment, Guo Xing asked, "Wang Donglai, I'm in Hall 19, Seat 21. Which hall are you in?"

As Guo Xing's voice rang out, the area around Wang Donglai seemed to fall silent.

As if he hadn't noticed, Wang Donglai said naturally, "Hall 09, Seat 10."

"I'm in Hall 07, Seat 27. Our halls might even be on the same floor!"

Chen Mengni's face lit up with excitement as she said to Wang Donglai with a look of pleasant surprise.

Very quickly.

Wang Donglai's examination hall information spread. And in the very last row, the eyes of one person suddenly brightened.

(Please support! The high school arc is ending soon, and things are about to get exciting. Let's fly...)

(End of Chapter)