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Li Cheng was startled and quickly held his breath, concentrating and listening to the sounds outside the door. Fortunately, he didn't wake up his aunt's family.

He sighed with relief and carefully inspected the bone knives on his left and right arms.

Each bone knife was about 60 centimeters long, twice the length of the ulna of the forearm, with the widest part about 7 centimeters. The blade was thin as a cicada's wing, extremely sharp, capable of easily cutting through wire while also being tough, not easily breaking like ordinary bones.

The bone knives were not formed in one piece; there was a folding knife-like retractable structure in the middle—this confirmed Li Cheng's speculation that the bone knives were extensions of the ulna.

In addition, the back of the blades contained structures like blood vessels and tendons.

When Li Cheng focused his mind, the bone knives would extend or retract according to his will, much like Wolverine's claws.

And as for the skin fissures at the forearm, they would automatically close up without any blood spilling or leaving scars.

He tried swinging his arms; the mantis bone knives sliced through the air, making a sound. Combined with the explosive strength from the ant-gene-enhanced muscles, they were powerful enough to kill large beasts like Lion Tigers.

————

The ordinary world, the ordinary life, was now gone forever.

The next day in the school, Li Cheng looked out the window with a profound gaze.

The homeroom teacher Yang Hui walked into the classroom and knocked on the desk with her knuckles, producing a "thud thud thud!" which calmed the morning reading.

"Cough cough,"

Yang Hui cleared her throat, "Students of Class 5, today our class welcomes a new transfer student, let's give a round of applause to welcome her!"

Students clapped their hands, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

After a year and a half of being together, the social circles within the class were almost solidified; everyone liked to hang out in their small groups.

The arrival of the unexpected transfer student was just like a setup in a light novel.

Under everyone's gaze, a delicately beautiful girl walked into the classroom.

She was dressed in a Chanel beige knit sweater, under a light-colored scarf her skin so pale you could almost see her veins, her wrist adorned with a platinum bracelet, holding a petite and exquisite leather purse in her hand. Her shy, frail gaze, combined with perfectly fluffy socks and bright, petite leather boots, made her look like a meticulously crafted porcelain doll.

"Wow..."

Many students unconsciously let out sincere exclamations; Li Cheng's classmate, Han Letian, pressed his hand against his own chest, lowering his voice and said, "Is there really such a cute person in the real world? Cheng, pinch me, I'm afraid I'm dreaming..."

Before he finished speaking, he was pinched by Li Cheng and immediately grimaced in pain, "Damn, you really pinched me?!"

"The phenomenon where the growth of the apical bud of a plant inhibits the growth of the lateral buds is called apical dominance. By pinching the tip of a plant, it can promote increased production in the plant. According to this principle, if you pinch off a person's head, it could promote their physical development."

Li Cheng explained earnestly.

"Hello everyone, my name is Shao Wangshu, from Jin City."

The petite girl spoke up, her voice as imaginably tender and soft, "Thank you for welcoming me. I look forward to learning and progressing with everyone in the future. Thank you all!"

After speaking, Shao Wangshu bowed, nearly bumping into the table.

After the introduction, the homeroom teacher sighed with relief and softly asked, "Alright, Wangshu, where would you like to sit?"

There were a total of 42 desks in the classroom, apart from the regular eight rows and five columns, there were two extra desks set beside the podium, jokingly referred to as "protector seats".

The left protector seat was the class president's spot, the right protector seat was usually empty, but during evening self-study, the homeroom teacher's daughter Yang Ling, who was still in elementary school, would come and sit there.

Yang Hui's husband had passed away early while trying to save a child from drowning. As a single mother, she struggled to raise her child on her own.

Because elementary schools dismissed earlier and she was worried about letting her daughter stay home alone, she had her daughter come to the classroom after school. Class 4 students, when leaving school, also liked to tease Yang Ling and pat her on the head before leaving.

"Could I be assigned a seat there?"

Shao Wangshu raised her finger, pointing behind Li Cheng.

"Uh?"

The homeroom teacher paused; she had only learned of the transfer student's arrival that morning. At that time, the school leaders repeatedly emphasized to her that Shao Wangshu's family background was very special and she must be treated with care.

This itself was a very absurd matter, especially since Zhuoyue Middle School, as one of the top private schools in Yin City, had seen all sorts of parents.

At parent meetings, a slap on the table could affect a large number of wealthy and influential people, yet she had never seen the school leaders so nervous.

And now, Shao Wangshu specifically requested to sit alone at the very back of the classroom.

To those who didn't know the full story, they might think the homeroom teacher was mistreating her.

"Wangshu, the last row is a bit far from the blackboard, can you see the words clearly?"

After hesitating for a while, Yang Hui softly asked, "Our class changes seats every month, how about I arrange a seat closer to the front for you to start with? We can talk about it again next month?"

Upon hearing this, Shao Wangshu bit her lip and whispered something into the homeroom teacher's ear.

The surprise in Yang Hui's eyes flashed for a moment; she cleared her throat, "Well then, Han Letian, please move your desk to behind Li Cheng. Your original seat will be given to Wangshu for now."

"Huh? Why me?"

Han Letian, whose name was called, looked utterly confused. However, as he could not disobey the teacher's orders, he slowly moved his desk to sit behind Li Cheng.

"Uh..."

Li Cheng was equally baffled and followed the teacher's instruction to fetch a new set of desks and chairs.

As early love is discouraged at Zhuo Yue Middle School, boys and girls are generally not seated together.

His regular neighbor on the right was Han Letian, and he had just temporarily encountered Ye Jiaying on his left.

He did not expect his desk mate to change to a girl, and a transfer student at that—wasn't this somewhat... against the rules?

Confused, he sat back down, while Shao Wangshu, who had already taken her seat next to him, extended her slender hand with a bright smile, "Hello, classmate. I'm Shao Wangshu from Jin City."

"Hello, I'm Li Cheng from Yin City."

Li Cheng shook her hand.

————

During the break, Shao Wangshu, naturally adorable, chatted with a group of girls, talking about Jin City's scenery and cuisine.

Li Cheng and the other boys sat near the window corner, casually chatting and sharing a bag of Lay's cucumber-flavored chips.

"Let me tell you, this new classmate Shao has definitely got an extraordinary background."

Han Letian said in a lowered voice, faking profundity, "Her family is wealthy, and not just ordinarily wealthy."

"No way, how do you know?" a boy named Evans asked.

"You can just tell," Han Letian rolled his eyes. "That scarf she wears is from COLOMBO."

"Colombo? What's that?" another boy named Zhan Xinyu asked in confusion.

"An Italian cashmere brand."

Han Letian, whose mother is a fashion designer and who has been influenced by her from a young age, scoffed, "They claim to be the world's largest maker of cashmere and other rare fabrics, creating luxury textiles from animal fibers, including but not limited to alpaca, baby goat hair, raw alpaca, camel hair, etc.

If I'm not mistaken, Shao Wangshu's scarf is made from Siberian mountain goat cashmere, with fibers one-seventh the diameter of a hair, capable of reflecting a golden sheen in sunlight. Just one scarf costs this much."

He gestured a seven with his fingers.

"Seven thousand?"

"Seventy thousand!"

"Wow…" The classmates around exclaimed in various tones.

In Zhuo Yue Middle School, where there were many wealthy second and third generations, luxury garments were no novelty.

But a jade pendant, a watch, or a scarf each worth seventy thousand yuan were completely different concepts.

"Now you know, those hoping to latch onto a wealthy girl should be cautious and show some good performance."

Han Letian slapped his thigh, then suddenly remembering something, suspiciously looked at Li Cheng, "Speaking of which, Brother Cheng, why did she specifically choose to sit next to you? Do you know each other?"

"Don't know her." Li Cheng shrugged; he had to cycle to a part-time job every day to save for college expenses—how could he possibly know a wealthy girl?

Han Letian scratched his head, "Think harder? Maybe you played the hero and rescued her when you were kids?"

Li Cheng rolled his eyes, "You think this is 'Naruto'? About to perform Naruto saving Hinata, huh?"

Han Letian continued to let his imagination wander, "Or maybe your dad and her dad fixed an engagement between you two? Seventeen years later, she comes to see her future husband, setting up a classic breakup drama, and turns out you are actually the supreme Dragon King hidden in the city?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm the Dragon King, and you, unwittingly, take over my homework this month. When the moment comes, I'll break through the void, ascend to the higher realms, and grant you the position of a young servant under my command."

Li Cheng said dryly.

The other boys continued their idle talks. Evans smirked sarcastically, "A scarf worth seventy thousand yuan, tsk tsk tsk."

"What's your point in saying all these?"

Zhan Xinyu glared at him, "Why do you only see that?"

Zhan Xinyu sneered, "It doesn't feel as humorous as last year's incidents in America—Texas with 42,889 people dead from shootings, 55 people frozen to death in extreme cold, Black Lives Matter zero-dollar purchases, Ohio's toxic train, lead pipes all over America reducing the IQ of children, private prisons listed on the stock market, and Lolita Island with Hawking researching black holes."

The two suddenly unleashed a barrage of quick retorts, while their classmates, already used to their antics, paid them no mind.

Zhuo Yue Middle School, a private institution with students from all over, particularly highlights the diversity of human specimens, housing every sort of eccentric one could imagine.

There were wealthy kids who still had a penchant for stealing their classmates' stationery,

oddballs who wore tacky anime shirts to school,

young ones with an official air who brown-nosed teachers and bossed around classmates,

and even Taoist Scholars who devoted their time to studying the I Ching and Geomancy Inspection.

Compared to these unique characters, Zhan Xinyu from Iron-blooded War Wolf, and Evans, who had vowed to migrate to the United States, seemed not so outstanding after all.