Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 238: What is the cost then?

Evening, school laboratory.

"So... just like this?" Zhang Xiaoke asked, blushing, as she timidly walked in.

Li Zheng, who was in front of the experiment table, suddenly looked up and then his eyes widened in shock.

A white lab coat, black-framed glasses, a ponytail, and that shy face...

Even the seemingly uneducated Zhang Xiaoke could be so attractive.

"Yes... just... just like that..." Li Zheng struggled to say, "Just find any table and do the experiment, I need to get used to this look."

"Oh..." Zhang Xiaoke said, heading downcast to a nearby experiment table with short quick steps.

"No!" Li Zheng cried out in alarm, "Too close, move further away!"

"..." Without a word, Zhang Xiaoke reluctantly changed to another experiment table, then picked up a pair of rubber gloves, slipping them on gently bit by bit.

To make them fit tighter, she didn’t forget to give the edges of the gloves a final tug.

After a crisp "Pia" sound, Zhang Xiaoke smiled in satisfaction and looked towards Li Zheng, "What’s next?"

Li Zheng was in a bad way, head hung low, seeming on the verge of collapse at any moment.

"Just... wait a moment... I need to catch my breath..."

"Hah, I thought it was something serious, just this?" Zhang Xiaoke laughed while striking a coquettish pose, sitting atop the experiment table and arching her eyebrows, "Teacher Li~~ could you come over and give me a little guidance~~"

At the sight, Li Zheng instantly got over it.

His mood improved, and his complexion brightened.

"I’m not afraid of this kind, doesn’t attract me at all," Li Zheng laughed loudly, "It’s like watching a horror movie and suddenly there’s a funny comment, it breaks the immersion immediately."

"Damn..." Zhang Xiaoke swore and hopped off the experiment table, "Is the problem with you or with me? Master, your tastes are really weird, aren’t they?"

"It’s not a taste, it’s an inner demon," Li Zheng said gravely, "The best way to overcome fear is to get accustomed to it."

"This... this isn’t quite fear, is it..." Zhang Xiaoke pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up seriously, "Master, do you know what a pornography identification specialist does?"

"I have a rough idea... they screen a lot of unhealthy content online to protect minors," he replied.

Zhang Xiaoke nervously said, "Then do you know, if a young man screens too much... he might develop some problems?"

"..."

"Master, we’re all insiders here; there’s no need to avoid topics that are embarrassing to talk about," Zhang Xiaoke shook her lab coat with a bit of force, lifting her glasses with an air of authority, "Indeed, you can make yourself numb through extensive exposure, but at the same time... there’s a price to pay."

"Enough..." Li Zheng raised his hand abruptly, then let it fall heavily back down, plunging into a fierce inner struggle.

Remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses in front of you...

The price was much higher than imagined.

Getting stronger was important indeed, and one’s mentality needed to be tempered.

But was it really necessary to sacrifice... such core joy?

"Master..." Zhang Xiaoke said sympathetically, "There isn’t just one path."

"Hmm?"

"Take me, for instance, I’ve always been someone who loves to play around, a bit clever, but once I entered Ren Da Fu, I was exposed," Zhang Xiaoke tapped her forehead and laughed, "Now that I think about it, what really motivated me to study hard wasn’t that games became boring or comics became dull, but rather the first time I felt a determination to achieve something. For that, other things could be temporarily sacrificed."

"So..." Li Zheng stared at his hands, "Is my determination not strong enough?"

"Yes and no," Zhang Xiaoke raised her hand, "You certainly are determined to excel in physical contests, but you no longer have a goal in experimental exams. It’s like throwing a heavyweight boxing champion into a primary school combat competition; he just can’t find the enthusiasm to prepare seriously, much less give it his all. During the competition, rather than focusing on the primary school kid’s footwork and punches, he’d rather look at the legs of the ring girls."

"After your analogy..." Li Zheng clutched at his chest, "I feel even worse..."

"Oh, come on, that’s not the point," Zhang Xiaoke took off her glasses, cast aside her lab coat, and approached confidently, "Trust me, Master. If it was the national finals or an even more important competition, you would naturally not get distracted. You think you’re controlled by desire, but it’s not true. In fact, your subconscious has already judged—’It doesn’t matter what happens in the experimental exam, the white lab coat and black glasses are the true rarities’."

Li Zheng’s eyes widened as if he had an epiphany, smacking his head.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking."

"Exactly, Master," Zhang Xiaoke said triumphantly, nodding her head, "Being bored with winning is the real reason you’re distracted."

Li Zheng struck his fist into his palm, then nodded in agreement, "Okay, Teacher Zhang, I’m not panicking at all now."

"Hmph, from now on, if you have questions about human nature, just ask me." Zhang Xiaoke raised her hand, pointing to herself with her thumb while licking her lips and said, "How about a little reward~"

"Sure!" Li Zheng rolled up his sleeves, "Hold your horses, I’ll live stream a set of challenging comprehensive science questions for you right here, without biology, okay?"

"I don’t want that kind of reward!"

As they were speaking, Lin Yujing swiftly entered the lab, still clutching a stack of math review materials, presumably having just come from Zhu Hongbo’s place.

"Hm?" She vigilantly noticed the white lab coat and black-framed glasses on the experiment table and looked at Li Zheng and Zhang Xiaoke with a mysterious expression.

Zhang Xiaoke shrank back, pointed at Li Zheng and while retreating scolded righteousness, "Practice well, Master Shifu, don’t mess up next time."

"Got it, thanks for the psychological coaching." Li Zheng raised his hand in farewell, "I’ll send you the comprehensive science question set later."

"Aiya, forget about the coaching fee, forget it." Zhang Xiaoke retreated to the doorway, then turned and ran off at full speed.

"Hm..." Lin Yujing slowly approached the table, gingerly picked up the white lab coat, and looked at Li Zheng with suspicion.

"What are you looking at!" Li Zheng, standing straight and righteous, moved to the front of the table, snatched away the lab coat, and with a swing of his arm that created a gust of wind, he put it on; he then picked up the basic black-framed glasses and put them on steadily. His whole demeanor sharpened, "I bought it, might as well use it myself."

Then, he shook out his jacket, smoothing out the wrinkles.

His glasses lifted, his presence commanding without anger.

Since the coat was purchased to fit Zhang Xiaoke’s size, it appeared slightly small on Li Zheng, which made the white lab coat seem to accentuate his muscles.

"!!" Lin Yujing instantly covered her mouth and began to tremble as she backed away.

During the previous experiment exam, because of the seating arrangement, she hadn’t actually seen Li Zheng in his scientist getup throughout the entire time.

Now, it was her first time being truly startled.

Li Zheng didn’t look at her, instead, he put on his gloves and gave them a light tug.

Pia!

"They’re a bit small..." Li Zheng remarked to himself and then looked up, "What do you think..."

Only when he looked up did he realize Lin Yujing had disappeared.

"So strange..." Li Zheng shook his head and returned to his own station.

He didn’t know that the outcome of the fierce battle for first place in the city that had just ended was entirely determined by luck.

Whoever was in the front row and couldn’t see the other, was the winner!

...

Before the "May Day" holiday, the school received a training camp notification from the provincial team. The camp would start on May 3rd, with three days for experiments and four days for theory, lasting a total of one week. All participants were advised to attend.

Upon hearing the word "advised," Lin Yujing immediately responded with "not participating."

Tao Feifei, on the other hand, didn’t insist. Lin Yujing and Li Zheng had reached the stage of "self-improvement," knowing what they needed and how to obtain it. The provincial team’s collective training was no longer suitable for them unless the Physics Association decided to arrange a special class for the two of them, inviting several high-level professors to give personal lectures. Otherwise, there was no harm in not going.

Li Zheng, however, didn’t think too much and expressed his intention to participate directly.

He actually didn’t have any hopes that the camp would improve his physics skills.

But he was very eager to boost his math skills.

After all, he had a prior agreement with Gu Jianfeng.

As long as he managed to stay in the same room with him for a few days, he should be able to glean some insights.

...

On the morning of May 3rd, Li Zheng arrived punctually in front of the Ji University Physics College complex.

Unlike the schools he’d visited before, the School of Physics at Jijing University was a large, recessed, and perfectly square black complex of buildings.

A row of tall, narrow colonnades spanned the opening of the "recess."

Engraved in golden letters above—Jijing University School of Physics.

Li Zheng ascended the stone steps, one by one, standing in front of the grand entrance to the colonnade, looking up at the row of golden characters.

For the first time, he felt a sense of ceremony.

Step inside.

Become the strongest, most avant-garde, and sharpest physicists in the nation.

Li Zheng took a deep breath and took that step.

When he looked up at the building again, he inexplicably felt a sense of belonging.

It was their first meeting, yet it felt as if they had known each other for a long time.

It was like those sudden moments, when you’re surprised as if you had dreamed of it in a dream.

In a daze, a voice known for its academic excellence came from behind him.

"Eh? Is that you?!"

Li Zheng turned around and saw a bespectacled buzz-cut boy who looked somewhat familiar. Unlike other bespectacled buzz-cut boys, his hair was more unkempt, as if he hadn’t cut it for two months.

The boy quickly turned from shock to delight, "Haha, no, it would be strange if you didn’t come."

"I remember now," Li Zheng exclaimed, "you’re the senior from McDonald’s, right?"

"Hey, what senior and all, isn’t it too early to call that?" the buzz-cut boy said with a smile as he stepped forward and extended his right hand, "Lu Yang, a participant from the 30th training camp."

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry," Li Zheng said, shaking the senior’s hand firmly, "Li Zheng, new member of the 36th provincial team."

"Ah, so you are that Li Zheng." Lu Yang patted him on the shoulder, "I’m here to help organize. I’ve seen your scores. What’s the meaning of 25 points in the experiment? Didn’t you practice at all?"

"Slip of the hand, slip of the hand," Li Zheng said with a grin, raising his hand, "Don’t worry, senior, I’m solid, solid in the national competition."

"25 points and you still have the nerve to say ’solid’?" Lu Yang also smiled and, putting his arm around Li Zheng, started walking toward the teaching building, "So, the girl from McDonald’s that day was Lin Yujing, right? 379... she’s quite the monster."

Li Zheng coughed slightly, somewhat dissatisfied, "Senior, aren’t your words a bit..."

"Hey, all compliments here," Lu Yang explained as they walked, "Middle schoolers use terms like top student or academic god, but here we only have two types of people: ’geniuses’ and ’monsters.’ ’Geniuses’ are just incredibly awesome, the kind of awesome you can imagine, the most awesome of the awesome. But if someone is so awesome that you can’t even imagine it, that’s a ’monster.’ That’s the highest praise for a person. Remember, it’s ’monster.’ If you say it the other way around, you’re asking for a beating."

"I see," Li Zheng said, getting the idea, "So you’re a ’monster,’ senior! Is this how you give a compliment?"

"It’s not exactly like that either..." Lu Yang scratched his head, "Forget it, don’t start with that now. Besides, I can’t count myself as either a genius or a monster. Here in the training camp, exceptional participants are everywhere, national awards are as common as stray dogs, and if you can just graduate on time and get into grad school, that’s everything good."

Although Li Zheng could imagine that Ji University would be like this, hearing these words still made him rub his hands together, "Interesting... that’s where it gets interesting..."

Once upon a time, facing a Lin Yujing, he was beaten to a pulp.

Now, he only yearned to face more Lin Yujings, many more.

Lu Yang accompanied Li Zheng upstairs to sign in and took the opportunity to introduce the training camp’s situation.

Li Zheng learned that not only members of the provincial team were attending the training, but there were also a dozen or so auditors. These auditors were naturally also at the forefront in this round of competitions, but this year’s competition was more like a trial for them; their real target was the competition next year.

It was also a way to cultivate seeds for next year’s provincial team, I guess.

When Li Zheng entered the classroom and looked for his name on the sign-up sheet, he realized there were only 11 official members of the provincial team participating in the training.

He knew Lin Yujing wasn’t coming.

But Gu Jianfeng, why didn’t he come either?

Duan Peipei was absent too.

In their place was a name he didn’t recognize.

Li Zheng suddenly found himself unable to sign his name.

"Senior, what’s the deal with this list?" Li Zheng turned to ask.

"This year is a bit strange..." Lu Yang drew a list from his backpack and started comparing it, "Lin Yujing is confirmed for the national finals but won’t join the training, you know that, right?"

"I know, what about Gu Jianfeng? Duan Peipei?"

"Let me see..." Lu Yang looked at the list and quickly shook his head, "These two have withdrawn from the competition."

Li Zheng was stunned and speechless for a long time.

Wasn’t it agreed that we would discuss mathematics together?

"I remember the teacher mentioned that Duan Peipei went to some camp, signed with Jinghua, and now wants to focus on preparing for college entrance exams," Lu Yang mumbled, "As for Gu Jianfeng... the teacher wasn’t very clear either, just that the school received a phone call saying he’s not competing... This guy is quite famous, seemed to have secured a spot in the math school as soon as he started high school, maybe he just found physics uninteresting."

"Is that so..." Li Zheng sighed and put down his pen.

Everyone certainly has the freedom to make their own choices, but he really began to hate Gu Jianfeng.

Hypocritical, whimsical, breaking his word.

Did he just fool me into a one-day trip to Ji University?

"Huh?" Lu Yang, seeing Li Zheng spacing out, leaned over and pointed at the list, "Your name is right here, Lake Ying Public...Lake Ying Middle School."

"This..." Li Zheng said awkwardly, "If they’re not coming, then there isn’t much point for me being here either."

He didn’t notice that Qi Yingnan had actually been there for a while, and at that moment was inside the classroom, staring at him foolishly.

One ’big brother Wuji’ after another...

Is your big brother not human?

I’m hurt, your big brother is genuinely hurt this time.

"Ah..." Lu Yang was taken aback for a moment, then said, "That’s...not great...you already took a spot...otherwise, we could have arranged for another auditor."

"Sorry," Li Zheng said stiffly, "I won’t trouble you, senior. How about this, is there a teacher around? I’ll go apologize to the teacher in person and explain."

As he was speaking, an extremely casual voice came from behind.

"Listening, understood."

Looking back, it was a male teacher who dressed and looked like an intellectual from over 30 years ago, lean in stature, with a Che Guevara-style haircut, thick plastic glasses, and, no matter how one looked at it, an outdated jacket.

"Teacher Jie..." Lu Yang first bowed in greeting, then exclaimed in surprise, "What brings you here?"

"Everyone went to a meeting, and nobody asked me to attend a meeting, so if I didn’t come here, I would have had to let those few professors, who are always shouting about Quantum Mechanics on Weibo, come and fill the new generation’s minds with crap." The male teacher pulled out a pack of cigarettes, flicked out two half-smokes, and shook them towards them both.

Li Zheng and Lu Yang both raised their hands to firmly decline.

"Good that you don’t smoke," the male teacher said to himself, lighting up a cigarette, taking a drag, and glancing at Li Zheng, "You’re the guy...did you win in the end?"

Li Zheng had a dumbfounded look on his face.

Lu Yang hastened to explain, "That day at McDonald’s, when you guys were competing in the Wandering Planet Project, Teacher Jie was there at the start and glanced at your equations."

"Oh oh oh, didn’t win," Li Zheng nodded and said, "Even with technology from the movies, the project would definitely fail, so we just did something fun."

"Ah, that’s right," the male teacher smiled and waved his hand towards the outside, "It’s the same with this training camp, now the Olympiad, the ones setting the questions are out of new tricks, so they just pile on the calculations. What’s there left to train? Better go home early and do something fun instead."

"Then…" Lu Yang looked awkwardly at Li Zheng, "Although Teacher Jie agreed...I still want to urge you one more time, our experimental center has decent hardware, warming up a bit is not a loss..."

"Thanks, senior, I’ll just practice at our school," Li Zheng nodded, then shouldered his backpack and said to the teacher, "Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Jie."

"No, it’s less trouble," the male teacher said with a smile, cigarette in mouth, "I truly wish you good luck in your exams."

"Thank you, teacher."

After Li Zheng left, Lu Yang sighed, "Well, of the top three this year, two aren’t training, one dropped out, what are we going to do about the national competition..."

"Haha," the male teacher laughed, slapping his thigh, "Isn’t that what makes the national competition fun?"

"It’s not that, Teacher Jie... That was your time, over a decade or two ago... Nowadays, the ones who compete are mostly without any wild tricks, all have been through years of training classes..."

"Don’t give me that; you think I don’t know what’s going on?" the male teacher chuckled, "Isn’t Gu Jianfeng a maverick?"

"..."

"I’m telling you, Gu Jianfeng is exactly what we’re looking for, the goal of the competition is to select minds like Gu Jianfeng’s, ones that can solve problems without relying on memorization tricks and patterns," the male teacher said, glancing at the people in the classroom and shaking his head, "Otherwise, why select a bunch of problem-solving robots to line up on an assembly line?"

"Alright, Teacher Jie..." Lu Yang swallowed, looking into the classroom, "Think about the feelings of the students inside..."

Actually, not many people had heard Teacher Jie’s criticism.

There was only Qi Yingnan, standing alone, the last of her kind remaining in this world.

Gone, they were all gone; Li Zheng was gone, Lin Yujing was gone, Duan Peipei as well, Wind God vanished with the wind, Shit Bao’er lost in a foreign land.

Fine then, you don’t want to play with me huh...

The tortoise and the hare, the latecomer wins.

Hmph, you’re forcing me to get serious.