Deus Ex Machina: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shi Yixi returned to the dormitory, and as soon as he opened the door, Ying Si approached.

“Where did you go?” Ying Si asked. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, about what happened in the evening…” He had only heard about it and found it extremely unbelievable. “What does that guy named Yang want?” He clenched his fists tightly.

“Misunderstanding,” Shi Yixi replied. “I’m tired and want to sleep.”

“Misunderstanding?” Ying Si’s voice raised eight octaves. “What kind of misunderstanding is that? How can running on the playground while broadcasting be a misunderstanding?”

He kept questioning Shi Yixi, following him incessantly, accidentally bumping into Zhao Qinghe’s book. Zhao Qinghe exclaimed, and Ying Si immediately said gruffly, “What are you yelling for?”

Zhao Qinghe was already afraid of Ying Si, and with a guilty conscience, he silently bent down to pick up the book, pretending to neatly arrange it. Then he stood up with a book, adjusting the pages to semi-transparency, discreetly observing Shi Yixi changing clothes.

And Shi Yixi never glanced at Zhao Qinghe from start to finish.

For most people, campus life is ordinary with a touch of color. But life at Nufeng Academy is like going to war every day. A group of the brightest sparks of human civilization gathered together to enjoy the best educational resources in the world. Here, they receive the most scientific training, free to unleash their talents and potentials.

Before the activation of potentials, they are no different from ordinary people. After undergoing systematic training, they begin to reveal their extraordinary qualities.

However, this process varies in speed, so the school conducts monthly genetic tests on students.

At this point, Zhao Qinghe has already begun to manifest his potential direction. In the test results, his A-level potential is reflected in strength. It’s just that at his young age, the increase in strength requires physical maturity.

Ying Si scrutinized Zhao Qinghe with a sinister expression, unable to imagine that this weak and timid elementary school student would grow into a strong man in the future. The image was simply terrifying. He glanced at his own test results – B-level potential gradually evolving, development status was good. Although the specific details were unclear, it could now be determined that there was a certain specialization in intelligence.

He let out a long sigh. Before, he stubbornly refused to come to Nufeng Academy, thinking about whether the world would end or not had nothing to do with him. Now, if it’s a kind of intellectual specialization, it seems that he can at least play dead in the future.

“How about you, Yixi?” Ying Si patted Shi Yixi on the shoulder.

Shi Yixi put away his test results and shook his head.

“Still no results?”

Shi Yixi nodded. Shortly after, a doctor in a white coat came out of the examination room and called Shi Yixi in. It took a long time for him to come out.

By the time all the students in the school had completed their examinations, the people at the entrance had dispersed, leaving only Ying Si waiting for Shi Yixi to come out.

Shi Yixi still had an indifferent expression as if unaware of the situation. Ying Si, with his arms crossed, impatiently said, “What are you doing? I’ve been waiting for you for so long! It’s so annoying!”

“Sorry,” Shi Yixi scratched his head. “The doctor wanted to talk to me, and it took a bit long.”

“What did you talk about?” Ying Si asked.

“I seem to…” Shi Yixi handed his test results to Ying Si. “It’s a bit different from everyone else.”

The tea cup in Zhang Yize’s hand emitted white steam. He held it with his hands, smiled at Yang Jin sitting in front of him, and said, “Teacher Yang, that student Shi Yixi in your class…”

“A waste.” Yang Jin said. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh no no.” Zhang Yize said, “How can students from our school be considered a waste? Teacher Yang, please don’t speak ill of your own students like that.”

Yang Jin openly pointed to his own head with his fingers: “There seems to be a problem here.”

“Uh…” Zhang Yize paused. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about.” He pressed a button, and a holographic image appeared above the desktop. In the middle was the spiraling DNA, and next to it was Shi Yixi’s information.

Yang Jin’s brows imperceptibly furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Teacher Yang, this is the recent potential test conducted in the school,” Zhang Yize said. “You’ve been in Qianfan for so long; you should have a very deep understanding of human genetic evolution and potential. Human evolution has no direction or endpoint. The secrets hidden in genes are the surprises of this great evolution. Humans have explored and effectively utilized them, further advancing the progress of human civilization.”

“Director,” Yang Jin said, “please get to the point.”

“Cough, cough.” Zhang Yize was pulled out of the genetic lecture by Yang Jin. “This is the result of Shi Yixi’s recent examination. Can you see any abnormalities?”

Yang Jin reached out and disassembled and recombined the DNA. Chromosomes and genes appeared next to it. He gently magnified and rotated them, saying in surprise, “He… Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake? His genes tend to be infinite ordinary?”

Zhang Yize sighed and brought up another set of DNA. “Take a look at this. This is Shi Yixi’s test when he entered the school. Although it’s not very obvious, the test results at that time indicated that he had potential that could be activated. But for some reason, after a month of enrollment, this potential started to decrease. At this rate, he may regress to an ordinary person before the midterm exams.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Yang Jin said. “Although he exudes an idiotic aura from inside out, ever since the concept of human potential emerged, there has never been a natural regression case, unless retiring from Qianfan – even if retiring from Qianfan, it is still artificially induced.”

“The specific situation is not clear at the moment. It’s too sudden. We are also applying to have specialized scientists dispatched from the Qianfan base,” Zhang Yize said. “But among the possibilities speculated by doctors, the instability of potential due to psychological pressure is not ruled out.”

“Psychological pressure?”

“Yes,” Zhang Yize said, “If his potential is in the intellectual domain, perhaps this possibility exists. It was said that he ranked last in the entire grade in the recent school rule test… Teacher Yang, have you talked to him?”

“Talked, but…”

“Teacher Yang,” Zhang Yize interrupted Yang Jin, “every student is a vital force for Qianfan. The school doesn’t want to give up on them. Before there’s a definitive conclusion, all we can do is help them as much as possible. You’re his homeroom teacher. When a student has such a problem, you need to figure out a solution.”

After hearing this, Yang Jin didn’t even know where to put his hands.

“Wan Hong is very concerned about your situation at Nufeng,” Zhang Yize smiled with a hint of meaning.

What’s all this about? Yang Jin was speechless.

Just the thought of Shi Yixi’s perennially calm face made Yang Jin feel very awkward. He spent the whole way back thinking about what to do.

To avoid Shi Yixi being fooled again, Yang Jin went to the student dormitory to find him. When Shi Yixi saw Yang Jin, he could only discern a hint of surprise from his eyes.

“Teacher?” Shi Yixi asked.

“Nothing,” Yang Jin said, “Come on, let’s go out and talk?”

Shi Yixi lowered his head and followed Yang Jin slowly. At first, Yang Jin didn’t say anything either, and the two walked silently along the tree-lined path.

Yang Jin felt that if he didn’t say anything, Shi Yixi probably wouldn’t speak for the rest of his life.

“How have you been feeling lately?” Yang Jin asked, “In terms of studies, life, emotions, anything…”

“Fine,” Shi Yixi replied briefly, then fell silent.

Yang Jin felt that this kid might have some obstacles in getting a girlfriend in the future. What kind of girl would like this kind of introverted person?

To avoid awkward silence, Yang Jin cut to the chase and said, “I know about the recent genetic test results. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

“I’m not under pressure,” Shi Yixi said.

“Don’t lie to your teacher,” Yang Jin said with emphasis, “Teenagers your age like to pretend to be deep, but this kind of behavior isn’t cute at all. I’ve met more people than you’ve had meals, do you think I don’t understand your psychological state?”

Shi Yixi looked up at Yang Jin. “Teacher, how old are you?”

“Twenty-eight,” Yang Jin said. “Why?”

Shi Yixi stared at Yang Jin without blinking, bewildered, very bewildered.

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t look like it?” Yang Jin smiled and said, “Like a senior student?”

Shi Yixi remained bewildered.

Yang Jin’s smile paused, gradually stiffening.

“Do I really look that old?” he sneered.

“No,” Shi Yixi said, “I didn’t mean that.”

Yang Jin coldly chuckled, “So you understand what I meant?”

Shi Yixi’s brain couldn’t keep up, but instinctively felt that this topic shouldn’t continue. He began to play dead.

“Alright, let’s get to the point,” Yang Jin said. “If you’re willing, you can tell me anything that troubles you. Shi Yixi, your situation is quite unique. Although I don’t think Lao Ma’s screening results could be wrong, the current facts are in front of us. Your situation has never happened in Nufeng Academy’s history since its founding. We don’t know if it’s good or bad, but you need to understand one thing; many issues can’t be handled alone.”

“Teacher, I…”

“By the way!” Yang Jin snapped his fingers, muttering to himself, “Why didn’t I think of this earlier?”

“Huh?”

“Come with me,” Yang Jin said.

Shi Yixi followed Yang Jin to Yang Jin’s dormitory. The teacher’s dormitory at Nufeng had a good environment, and Yang Jin’s room had a spacious and bright living room, with bedrooms inside. He closed the door, pulled the curtains, didn’t turn on the lights, and the bedroom plunged into darkness.

“Teacher?” Shi Yixi was puzzled.

Yang Jin flicked his wrist and said, “Fan Fan, help me retrieve Qianfan’s training records.”

“What? Are you crazy? You’re not at the Qianfan base now. What if you get caught, and then you’ll face disciplinary action. Are you planning to sweep the streets?” Fan Fan said.

“Here, it’s just one street away from Qianfan’s base, okay?” Yang Jin said. “Rounding up, there’s not much difference. Stop wasting time; quickly pull it out for me. If you don’t listen, I’ll change your program to Snake and let the freshmen play with it!”

“Wuwuwu, you’re a bad person!” Fan Fan sobbed, succumbing to Yang Jin’s intimidation and obediently retrieved the internal data belonging to Qianfan, placing it in front of Yang Jin and Shi Yixi.

Shi Yixi looked at the light blue graphics and text before him, a bit at a loss for words.

“If you have a chance to enter Qianfan in the future, you will see this thing,” Yang Jin explained. “After entering Qianfan, everyone undergoes more detailed potential enhancement, and then they are ultimately assigned to which system. In comparison, what you learn here at Nufeng Academy is simply child’s play… ah, found it.” He zoomed in on some content, clearly describing the basic rules for training potential activation. Yang Jin inputted Shi Yixi’s information, and the system automatically matched the optimal solution for him.

Shi Yixi couldn’t understand the content on it at all. His gaze fell on a test tube in the corner, he reached for it and asked, “What is this?”

“TGS-4,” Yang Jin said. “But it has another name you should have heard of—Haiyan ¹.”

Graduating from Nufeng Academy and entering Qianfan was not the endpoint for these genius prodigies; it was the starting point of everything. What they learned at Nufeng Academy was based on the evolution of their own physical conditions. However, members of Qianfan faced the darkest and cruelest battles in the world, and they needed more powerful weapons to protect themselves.

Haiyan was specifically developed to help them enhance their abilities, ensuring they maintained the peak state of their potential during service, and this state would slowly fade after retirement.

If Qianfan was a sailing boat in the thundering waves, then Haiyan was the guiding prophet in the midst of the storm.

The overwhelming power of Haiyan led Qianfan and the Intercontinental Alliance to strictly control it, and its formula was the most important secret in the world. Many people outside tried to study and replicate Haiyan, but all failed. Nevertheless, even those crude imitations were highly sought after on the black market.

“But you can’t handle this thing; it’s too powerful,” Yang Jin put back the data model in Shi Yixi’s hands. “Without specialized training, one injection can take your life.”

“So powerful?”

“Once, a batch fell into the hands of people from the ‘Sanctum’,” Yang Jin said, “My mission was to retrieve Haiyan. When I arrived at their secret laboratory, guess what I saw?”

Shi Yixi stared at Yang Jin intently, and Yang Jin smiled and said, “The laboratory wasn’t big, but there were hundreds of corpses inside, piled up like abandoned trash. I only found the remaining half of Haiyan, which means that hundreds of people were sacrificed in the analysis experiments of half of Haiyan.”

After finishing, he chuckled, but Shi Yixi shuddered, feeling horrified.

“You ask me where the danger in this world lies, how would I know?” Yang Jin said, “The cities outside are so developed, people live quiet and peaceful lives, and they can even travel in space. Who would have thought that there was once a corner of this world where hundreds of people died tragically? And I speculate that the Sanctum has made some progress in the analysis of Haiyan, and their strength has increased a lot. Ah, the missions are getting harder and harder. It seems that teaching in school is still better… off topic, let’s get back to business.”

“Oh…” Shi Yixi responded.

Yang Jin scrolled through the contents in the file, “This is a Qianfan-level plan specially tailored for you. From now on, every night you come to my dormitory, and we’ll do some… rule-breaking things.”

Shi Yixi asked, “Teacher, why are you helping me?”

“You think I want to?” Yang Jin said, “If Director Zhang hadn’t said not to give up on any student, you would have been sent back home packaged and returned, you idiot.”

This time, Shi Yixi finally showed a slightly embarrassed expression, scratching his head and saying, “Thank you, Teacher Yang.”

“Alright,” Yang Jin said to Fan Fan, “From now on, help me monitor and record his body’s data.”

“…” 

Fan Fan, “Teacher, is it really okay to invade students’ privacy like this?”

“So, do you think Snake is more fun or Tetris?” Yang Jin countered.

If you're enjoying the story don't forget to support the author! You can also support me on KOFI for site maintenance, raws purchase or as an energy boost~ 

 

AFFILIATE AD

Want to develop your career or work on a new hobby but don't have the financial resources? Check out these courses encompassing all aspects and topics. Want to build your own website or app, but don't even know what <!DOCTYPE> is, how about these IT Courses. Don't want to keep waiting for slow translators to update? 别担心！中文课程来拯救你了! Did you just become a Teacher and have NO idea what the f*ck you're doing? Early Childhood Education For Dummies 101 is in session! Lied on your CV that you can work under pressure but are now hiding in the bathroom playing ostrich? You still have to come up for air anyways so how about taking a Self Development course to manage stress and improve mental health. Whatever you're interested in, at the click of a button. And the best thing it's all for free! And...you can get an accredited certificate! START LEARNING BEFORE YOU'RE TOO OLD TO RETAIN ANYTHING OR GET FIRED FROM YOUR JOB! Or if you are fired, Build A New Resume to reel in the next one~

 

 

Translator Notes

1. Ocean Feast/Swallow/Eagle. Wasn’t sure which so I used pinyin[↩]