After the darkness!

Lin Yijue was panting heavily and stopped to rest.

I kept taking deep breaths to calm my panicked emotions.

"In any case, at least I got two talents for free. An ordinary person turned into a genius directly, which is already much better than the original owner."

Feeling the changes in his body brought him some comfort; at least the situation was much better than the hellish start he had at the beginning.

Ding ding ding.

Just then, the alarm clock rang.

"Time to get up." Lin Yijue instinctively reached for his schoolbag.

No, I've already taken sick leave, why should I go to class?

He suddenly realized something halfway through reaching out his hand.

If you don't attend classes, what are you going to do?

According to the original owner's memories, even after the darkness and the arrival of a similar apocalyptic era, the college entrance examination is still the fairest and most cost-effective exam for ordinary people today.

Thinking of this, he sighed, and while absorbing the original owner's fragmented memories, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and walked out of the room.

Pushing open the door reveals a narrow corridor with polished white floor tiles and walls covered in yellowed plaster covered with certificates of merit.

Lin Yijue's gaze swept over the wall covered with images of "Lin Xiaofei"—city-level combat champion, gold medalist in the youth physical fitness competition, outstanding student of the city defense department...

All that belonged to him were a few faded pieces of paper in the corner: a participation prize for the tug-of-war competition and an encouragement prize for the speech contest, with the edges still frayed.

Sunlight streamed through the window at the end of the corridor, illuminating the large, gilded characters and casting a long, thin shadow at his feet.

In the living room, the father, Lin Yunming, sat on the sofa flipping through the newspaper, while the sound of the mother, Song Huiling, washing dishes came from the kitchen.

Lin Yijue walked to the dining table without saying a word, looking at the pale yellow toast and hot milk on the table.

This was the first time he had met the original owner's parents.

For a moment, it felt both strange and familiar.

With his mind a bit muddled, his stomach growled, so he simply picked up the toast on the table and started eating. The taste, mixed with the texture of sachima, was noticeably different from his previous life.

In the original owner's memory, the raw material for this thing was not wheat, but some kind of algae.

Thinking of this, Lin Yijue couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Xiao Jue, don't go to the artificial forest alone anymore, it's really dangerous there..."

Just then, Mother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands; her pale red floral apron was still damp. Her hair was loosely tied back with a black rubber band, and there were a few strands of white at her temples. She always spoke with her lips pursed.

"Exams are coming up soon, try your best to get into a junior college, Mom and Dad..."

"Okay, Mom," Lin Yijue said, trying to remain calm and speaking as if he were the original owner of the body. "I'll go to school soon."

"You dared to go into the artificial forest all by yourself?" Sitting on the sofa, the father, who had been silent all along, suddenly put down his newspaper, his eyes behind his glasses narrowing into slits. "If the patrol hadn't been nearby, you wouldn't even know how you died. Those alien monsters specifically target lone wolves..."

Lin Yijue did not respond.

This is the original owner's fault, and he doesn't want to take the blame. Besides, at this moment, he hasn't fully absorbed the memories and is still somewhat confused.

"Tell me," the father leaned forward, the newspaper rustling on his knees, and continued, "What exactly happened between you and Luo Wen? Did she send you to the artificial forest?"

"No," Lin Yijue replied instinctively.

At this moment, large chunks of memories appear and merge.

He remembered.

Luo Wen was his childhood sweetheart and neighbor, and also one of the reasons why the original owner got into trouble.

The other person always wears a high ponytail. The two grew up together and have a very good relationship.

Naturally, the original owner began to have some romantic feelings for him.

Not long ago, after the results of the second mock exam came out, the original owner felt that he would not be able to get into a junior college. The other person was also destined to go to vocational high school together, so he planned to confess his feelings after graduation, and then the two of them would get into the same vocational high school and go to the front-line garrison area to "go to the countryside" to work hard and develop.

That way, we can have someone to look after us.

But when she confessed her feelings, the other person simply said, "I'm sorry, you're a good person, but I only see you as a good friend."

Only then did he realize that the other party had already mastered the first step of the third set of eighteen body-refining techniques.

This gives you extra points in the college entrance exam, and with those extra points, getting into a junior college becomes much easier.

In a fit of anger, the original owner went to the artificial forest alone, hoping to find an opportunity like in a storybook, and ultimately died in a muddle.

"It was my own idea to go." Thinking of this, Lin Yijue said in a low voice, wanting to end the conversation quickly.

From an outsider's perspective, it's not entirely the girl's fault.

"Go by yourself?" Lin's father sneered, clearly not believing him.

"I won't go next time," Lin Yijue said in a low voice, which was considered an admission of weakness.

This body had an instinctive fear of Lin's father, and even though the soul was replaced by his from a peaceful era, this ingrained reaction was difficult to eliminate immediately.

Mr. Lin seemed somewhat surprised by his compliance, grunted twice, and said nothing more.

Lin's mother quickly handed her a glass of warm water: "Xiao Jue, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Your parents are doing this for your own good."

Lin Yijue simply nodded.

He understood the original owner somewhat. The love of the parents in the original family was absolutely unquestionable, but precisely because of its sincerity, it was more of a pressure for an adolescent, a poor student who "couldn't do anything right".

Fortunately, he had experienced this feeling in his previous life.

Therefore, I don't find these words offensive now.

"I'm going to work now." Father Lin Yunming stood up, picked up his briefcase, and said, "Your mother won't be back for lunch, so heat up some leftovers yourself."

"Be careful on the road." His mother saw him to the door, then turned to Lin Yijue, "How about I ask you for another day off? You still don't look well..."

"No need, I'll go to school now." Lin Yijue stood up, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a harsh sound.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Because of the comfortable life at university, Lin Yijue knew when he should play and when he shouldn't.

You can play on your phone as much as you want during class, or even skip class altogether.

After all, that's just how university life is.

But if you still refuse to study during final exam review week, that's truly foolish.

Failing a course requires retaking it, and you may even have to pay to buy credits, or your parents may be notified.

Now, with the exam less than two months away, he knows almost nothing about the world's knowledge system. If he doesn't hurry up, will he really end up on the front lines?

The father and mother didn't say anything more, only saying "whatever you want".

Lin Yijue quickly returned to his bedroom and haphazardly stuffed the books on the table into his schoolbag.

When I left the room, my parents had already left, and there were several banknotes on the living room table, totaling five hundred yuan.

This was the food allowance left for him. According to the original owner's standards, it was only thirty yuan a day, and it was given every three days.

"It's like receiving half a month's living expenses at once... Is it compensation...?" Lin Yijue put on his shoes and took one last look at the messy bedroom.

The light coming through the gap in the curtains was a bit brighter than before, and dust on the floor danced in the beams of light.

He took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went out.

The No. 7 Middle School is not far from home; following the route I remember, it takes less than ten minutes to get there by jogging.

As the sun grew increasingly scorching, a faint, metallic rust smell permeated the air of the base city—the smell of melting permafrost outside the high walls.

There weren't many pedestrians on the road, and most of them were in a hurry. Occasionally, patrol teams dressed in city defense uniforms would pass by, their standard batons gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

As Lin Yijue approached the school, he passed a bulletin board. Several yellowed flyers and a brand-new poster were pasted on it—a registration notice for the "23rd Red Bull Cup Youth Fighting Competition," with a deadline of next Friday.

The poster prominently displays in red lettering: "Special Certification from the Base City; Top Ten Students Will Receive Recommendation Letters from Universities in the Base City!"

His steps suddenly stopped.

College recommendation letters... Does that mean that as long as you win a prize in the competition, you can enter a junior college without taking the exam?

Similar to early admission in my previous life?

That's one possible approach.

Lin Yijue seemed to be deep in thought.

It's just that it's estimated to be very difficult, similar to those competitive students in my previous life.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Just then, a teasing voice rang out from the side.

Lin Yijue turned around and saw two boys wearing the uniforms of No. 7 Middle School, one of whom had dyed blond hair and was pointing at the poster with his chin:

"What, Lin Yijue, you want to sign up too? Don't end up like last time in the free fighting class, getting punched to the ground and crying."

Another boy laughed, "He's the kind of person who's gone to man-made forests looking for 'opportunities,' a brave warrior charging into battle for love. Maybe he'll try again this time!"

Lin Yijue recognized them as classmates from the original owner's class, who usually liked to bully the original owner.

He didn't want to cause trouble and turned to leave. There was no need to argue with the two of them; he had many things to do right now.

The blond-haired guy seemed annoyed that he wasn't responding, and leaned forward: "Are you mute? Not saying a word today?"

He then extended his hand.

Lin Yijue glanced at it, and subconsciously jumped back a step, just dodging it, while his right hand instinctively protected his chest.

This movement was extremely natural, as if it were etched into one's bones.

Huang Mao was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Lin Yijue to actually dodge and even make this gesture.

He scoffed and swung his fist at Lin Yijue: "Stop pretending!"

The fist came hurtling towards them with a whoosh, though it wasn't particularly fast.

Lin Yijue instinctively dodged to the left, while simultaneously delivering a short, sharp punch with his right fist straight to Huang Mao's abdomen.

"Ugh!" the blond-haired man groaned and bent over.

The boy next to him was startled and quickly helped him up.

Lin Yijue was also somewhat surprised. The power and speed of this punch far exceeded his expectations, as if an extra force within his body had been mobilized.

He didn't linger; while the two were still in a daze, he turned and ran towards the school.

He heard Huang Mao's furious cursing behind him, but he didn't turn around.

Reaching the school gate, Lin Yijue stopped, panting, his heart still pounding. He had only one feeling about that brief exchange.

Silky smooth!

Is this talent?

He was just randomly hitting things.

Even as he thought about this, his heart was still pounding.

"Keep calm." He suppressed his barely concealed excitement.

I walked briskly towards the school.

As I entered the corridor, the preparatory bell for class rang, and the students hurriedly ran into their classrooms.

He stood in the middle of the corridor, trying hard to recall the location of the classroom from the original owner's memories.

By the time he found the classroom, the bell had already rung. He stood at the door, and dozens of eyes in the classroom turned to look at him. The teacher on the podium adjusted his glasses, frowned, and said, "Lin Yijue, late again? How many times this month?"

Lin Yijue did not refute, but only apologized in a low voice.

The teacher seemed to know what had happened to him, but simply waved his hand.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Lin Yijue walked to his seat—the last row of the classroom by the window, where the original owner's belongings were piled up.