Chapter 3: The Universe is Set; We Are Both Mere Beasts of Burden

The sudden appearance of the main quest sent Wang Donglai into a panic.

There were only 98 days left until the college entrance exam, and he had long since forgotten most of what he had learned.

There is a saying that an average adult’s peak knowledge is reached during their senior year of high school: they know the principles of celestial movement, organic and inorganic reactions, ellipses and hyperbolas, hybrid biospheres, can speak English, recite ancient prose, solve sequences, explain Marxist philosophy, trace five thousand years of Chinese history, and extrapolate the vastness of the world.

But after Wang Donglai got into college in his previous life, he had slowly forgotten his high school knowledge, not to mention the years he spent working after graduation.

The little knowledge he had left was likely limited to recognizing mathematical symbols like "cos, sin, and tan." As for politics, history, geography, English, and Chinese, he could only rely on the common sense he had picked up over the years; passing was out of the question.

With the Qin Province college entrance exam scored out of 750, Wang Donglai figured he could probably only score around 300 at this moment.

But after a moment, Wang Donglai regained his composure.

He had a system.

He could gain skills, attributes, and experience points through reading.

Furthermore, the system had already bound books categorized as essential for the college entrance exam. As long as he read these books, he would receive rewards.

Thinking this, Wang Donglai lowered his head and flipped open the Chinese textbook in his hands.

"Rainy Alley, Dai Wangshu..."

"Holding an oil-paper umbrella, alone..."

"Wandering in the long, long..."

"And lonely rainy alley..."

"..."

The short piece "Rainy Alley" didn't have many words, and Wang Donglai finished reading it in less than a minute.

Just as he finished, a system notification rang in his ears.

"Host read 'Chinese · 1', experience points increased by one."

"Main quest detected, unlocking Level 2 system panel!"

Following the system's chime, a new line of information appeared on the light screen in front of Wang Donglai.

Chinese: lv4 (27/1000) Math: lv2 (13/1000) English: lv3 (154/1000) Politics: lv3 (87/1000) History: lv3 (45/1000) Geography: lv3 (12/1000) Chemistry: lv1 (164/1000) Physics: lv1 (184/1000) Biology: lv1 (124/1000)

Looking at the information on the panel, Wang Donglai felt confused again.

The system provided an explanation immediately.

[This system has quantified the knowledge the host has digested and absorbed to ensure accuracy.]

[The host can gain experience points and level up through reading.]

After reading the system's explanation, Wang Donglai’s heart began to race.

He now completely understood the magic of this system.

He only needed to read over and over again to gain experience points and level up.

Clearly, whether he could complete the main quest depended on whether he could settle down and read repeatedly.

If he thought about it more deeply, he could see the terrifying potential of the system.

Just by reading repeatedly, he could raise the level of a single subject.

What a frightening ability.

Without wasting time, Wang Donglai began flipping through the Chinese textbook, reading from the very beginning.

"Qinyuanchun · Changsha," "Rainy Alley," "Dayanhe — My Nanny," "Zhu Zhiwu Retires the Qin Army," "Jing Ke Assassinates the King of Qin," "The Feast at Hongmen"...

Ever since he picked up the Chinese textbook, Wang Donglai had fallen into the excitement of playing a game and clearing levels.

Every time he finished reading, he could hear the system grant him an experience point.

This feeling of receiving immediate positive feedback after putting in the effort was something Wang Donglai found intoxicating and hard to pull away from.

The thirty-minute morning reading session wasn't long. In the past, Wang Donglai would have felt like every second was a year, but now it felt exceptionally short, passing in the blink of an eye.

Just as the bell for the end of morning reading rang, Meng Fang stood up from the stool by the multimedia podium. Looking at the listless crowd below, she said, "We will have a diagnostic test this weekend."

"The college entrance exam is right around the corner. From now on, there will be a small test every two weeks and a mock exam every month. We’ll have half a day off on Fridays, make-up classes on Saturdays and Sundays, and only one full weekend off per month. Remember to tell your families. If you don't have enough money, you can come to the office to find me."

After saying this, ignoring the sighs and groans from below, Meng Fang left the classroom.

Indeed.

Upon hearing the news from Meng Fang, the students in the classroom were wailing.

Only half a day off on Friday, one full weekend off per month, plus a small test every two weeks and a mock exam every month.

The intensity was much higher than the first half of the year.

For a moment, many people slumped over their desks, complaining to their seatmates about the school's arrangements.

Wang Donglai, however, did not do so. He continued his reading, completely immersed in his task.

"Old Wang, don't you think the school is crazy? They're managing us so strictly, and it's not like we're going to get into college anyway."

"Wait, no, your grades might actually have a chance at a third-tier university."

Huang Cheng looked at his seatmate, who had been reading for the entire morning session and was still reading intently, and couldn't help but feel surprised. He reached out and nudged Wang Donglai, interrupting him.

Turning his head to look at Huang Cheng, Wang Donglai recalled Huang Cheng's future in his mind.

He would get into a vocational college, study nursing, play around for two years, and during his internship, his family would arrange for him to intern at the Anshui County Hospital. After graduation, he would work while studying for the civil service exam.

After two years of trying, he would get into the county hospital.

As soon as he got in, he would buy a house and get married. Compared to Wang Donglai's situation, he was definitely a winner.

Thinking of this, Wang Donglai didn't rush to reply. Instead, he turned his head to scan the room, running through the names and faces of everyone in his mind.

Don't let the poor academic performance of this class fool you; many nurses, teachers, and civil servants would emerge from it later on.

The reason Wang Donglai didn't want to return to Anshui County in his previous life was precisely because of this.

The thought that the hospitals, schools, and government offices were all filled with his former classmates felt absurd.

Those who studied well went to big cities to become elites.

Those with average grades went to big cities to become laborers, enjoying the "blessing" of the 996 work schedule.

Those with poor grades, unable to make it outside, ended up with an "iron rice bowl" back in their hometown.

"Life is as insignificant as an ant, yet one should have the ambition of a swan; life is as thin as paper, yet one should have an unyielding heart. A man born between heaven and earth, how can he be content to live under others for long? Let dreams be your horse, and do not fail your youth. Before the universe is settled, you and I are both dark horses!"

"How is this? Is it pretentious enough?"

Wang Donglai's eyes were bright, a smile playing on his lips as he asked Huang Cheng.

Huang Cheng was also a veteran novel fan. Hearing this extremely pretentious line, he immediately showed interest and hurriedly asked, "Which novel is this from? It sounds interesting. Send me the novel via Bluetooth so I can check it out."

"Hahaha, this isn't from a novel, it's from the Chinese textbook."

As Wang Donglai said this, he thought of another version of this quote from his previous life on Douyin.

"Life is as insignificant as an ant, yet one should know the vastness of heaven and earth; life is as thin as paper, yet one should not have a heart higher than the sky. A man born between heaven and earth, helpless to do anything but live under others. The universe is settled, and you and I are both beasts of burden."

In his previous life, Wang Donglai had hated all of this countless times in the dead of night—hating himself for not studying hard, hating the arrogance and shamelessness of the capitalists. But when dawn broke, he would pull himself together and continue working his life away.

Now, heaven had given Wang Donglai a chance to start over, and he swore he would never miss this opportunity.

And right now, he had to do everything in his power to complete the system's first main quest.

"There is a bird that did not fly or sing for three years, waiting to grow its wings. Though it has not flown, when it does, it will soar to the heavens; though it has not sung, when it does, it will shock the world."

Wang Donglai vowed to make his voice heard in this surging world!

Please add to your library.

(End of chapter)