Judging by the immediate benefits, most people would choose to evolve the ’Eye of Deprivation’ because it would save them from spending a lot of Alliance Coins.

But the first option Gao Neng eliminated was the Eye of Deprivation.

Because he was no ordinary person.

He was more farsighted. Spending Alliance Coins was a temporary concern; what he needed now was to maximize his chances of survival.

As for the reason...

It was just that something unexpected had come up with the fifth part of his ultimate mission.

After returning home, he had actually tried to check the description for the fifth mission, ’The Red Star Sparkles and Shines Bright,’ only to discover that this mission was anything but ordinary.

"Ultimate Mission 5/5: The Red Star Sparkles and Shines Bright (Complete ’The Red Star Sparkles and Shines Bright,’ and you will have a 100% chance of receiving a high-grade treasure chest)."

"Mission Description: Pixelated."

"Mission Completion Conditions: Pixelated."

’No mission description and no completion conditions. What did that mean?’

’It meant this was a trigger-based mission!’

’And if I’m not mistaken, it probably has a countdown timer, just like the first few missions.’

’Suddenly, it would just hit you with a mission: "Confront."’

’Or it would bait you into a trap, and you’d end up with something like, "Don’t Leave, We Fight ’til Dawn."’

’It was trollish to an infuriating degree.’

Of course, this was only Gao Neng’s guess. The actual mission might be even more brutal than he imagined.

After all, this was the final part of the ultimate mission. The troll of a system was definitely not going to let him pass easily.

Gao Neng had a strong will to survive.

Therefore, he felt that evolving a skill that could drastically improve his strength might be the only way to turn the tide at a critical moment.

Gao Neng’s gaze returned to ’Lifeform Transformation.’ If he evolved it to the intermediate level, his strength would undoubtedly increase.

But intermediate...

’Do I need it right now?’

’The cost for the intermediate level would definitely be higher—that’s a given. It might even double.’

’And how much would my attributes increase?’

’Time to take a gamble! Sometimes the things that look dangerous are actually safer. The unknown... isn’t necessarily a trap. It could be a pleasant surprise, right?’ Gao Neng pepped himself up.

"Evolve ’Third Set of Primary and Middle School Broadcast Calisthenics (Dance of Youth)!’"

"DING! ’Third Set of Primary and Middle School Broadcast Calisthenics (Dance of Youth)’ has been successfully evolved!" a mechanical voice announced.

"BEEP! Congratulations, Host, you have acquired a new special skill: ’Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes’."

"..."

Gao Neng truly, really, *honestly*... had braced himself.

But he had still underestimated the trollish nature of the system. He never would have imagined that he would "evolve" from a "primary and middle schooler" into a "toddler."

’This is devolution!’

’Shouldn’t I have evolved into a college student?!’

’I would’ve even taken square dancing!’

Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes...

’What the hell was that supposed to be?’

Instead of listening to the system’s description, Gao Neng directly opened the ’Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes’ skill to take a look.

Sure enough, it listed actual nursery rhymes.

But there weren’t three hundred of them, only three.

The first was "Pulling Up the Radish." (When the Host sings "Pulling Up the Radish" loudly, vitality and mental activity will increase dramatically. In this state, vitality and stamina recovery speed will be boosted by 500%, and all adverse conditions will be cleansed.)

’My vitality and stamina recovery speed went from 300% to 500%? But compared to the broadcast calisthenics, I lost the 50% cultivation speed boost?’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Gao Neng wasn’t sure if this evolution was an upgrade or a downgrade. He looked at the second rhyme.

The second was "Little Leaping Frog." (When the Host sings "Little Leaping Frog" loudly, the fluidity of internal energy will increase dramatically. In this state, the speed of energy-based cultivation will be boosted by 300%.)

’So "Little Leaping Frog" is the one for cultivation? And it went from a 50% boost to 300%? That’s... a ridiculous increase!’

Gao Neng finally felt a glimmer of pleasant surprise. He then looked at the third rhyme.

The third was "Where is Spring?" (When the Host sings "Where is Spring?" loudly, focus will increase dramatically. In this state, learning speed will be boosted by 300%.)

’It can even improve my focus? And increase my learning speed?!’ This time, Gao Neng was genuinely shocked. ’What does this mean? It means my ability to learn is over 300% faster than a normal person’s. No, wait—it’s over 300% faster than a normal genius’s, because this boost is applied on top of my own foundation.’

’What an overpowered skill!’

’It’s absolutely, ridiculously overpowered!’

At the same time...

’It’s ridiculously embarrassing!’

Gao Neng used to think doing broadcast calisthenics was embarrassing enough, but after getting used to it, he found it acceptable. After all, the calisthenics could be used as combat moves.

But now?

’Singing "Pulling Up the Radish" in the middle of a fight?’

’And I have to sing "Little Leaping Frog" while I cultivate, and "Where is Spring?" when I study? Is this the kind of shit a sane person does?’

Gao Neng didn’t dwell on it and quickly pushed aside his sense of shame.

Because they had arrived at the airport.

The Forgotten Land had two airports in total. One was a civilian airport, and the other was the military airport before them now.

As a zone under the direct control of the Military Department.

The military airport’s primary purpose was transporting Alliance supplies.

This was also the monthly supply point for the Forgotten Land. It could be said that over ninety percent of the supplies shipped from the City of Hope were transported through this airport.

According to the original plan, Gao Neng should have boarded a flight at the civilian airport, traveling to the City of Hope with the other accepted students from the Forgotten Land.

But he had managed to miss it completely.

So, he could only take a cargo plane.

The Military Department personnel worked efficiently.

After Chen Bai presented his credentials, the group boarded a transport aircraft.

Onboard were a number of soldiers in charge of escorting the cargo safely. Aside from them, there were bundles of packaged supplies marked with codes, their contents indecipherable to anyone not in the know.

After about half an hour, the plane took off.

Gao Neng found a window seat and sat down. It was his first time on an airplane, and the novelty of it all made him gaze unconsciously out the window.

The Forgotten Land was actually very large.

However, the area that had actually been preserved was already very small. In the far distance, terrifying deep craters dotted the ground like a hornet’s nest.

Gao Neng watched for a moment before looking away.

Because night had fallen and the plane had ascended above the clouds, there was nothing to see below but endless dark cloud banks.

Xu Zilan, however, wasn’t looking outside. She just sat quietly in her chair with her eyes closed, resting. Her hand, however, never left the package in her lap.

"Lieutenant Chen, it’s rare for you to fly with us. Aren’t you going to introduce your companions?" one of the escorting soldiers, who seemed to know Chen Bai, asked.

"A student," Chen Bai replied casually.

"A student? Hasn’t reported to the academy yet? Heh... He’s already missed the deadline. I bet he’s going to be punished, right?" the soldier continued.

Chen Bai said nothing.

’Punished, my ass!’

’This kid’s got connections, don’t you know?’

"A student from which military academy?" The soldier was a bit of a chatterbox. Seeing Chen Bai wasn’t responding, he asked again.

"One in the Eastern Capital," Chen Bai said.

"The Eastern Capital? Which military academy in the Eastern Capital...?" The soldier seemed surprised, but then his eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Wait a minute, this kid isn’t *that* Gao Neng, is he? The student who got into the Eastern Capital Military Academy? This year’s top scorer from the Forgotten Land? I see his goddamn banner on the streets every day!"

"No, he’s from the Eastern Capital Suburban South Military Academy." Chen Bai shook his head. The Forgotten Land wasn’t a truly safe place, and even though they were surrounded by military escorts, Chen Bai remained cautious.

"I knew it. It would’ve been too much of a coincidence to run into the top scorer." The soldier sounded a little disappointed, then turned his gaze to Gao Neng. "Hey, pretty boy, you’re off to military academy soon. Know any Military Boxing? Show us a set. Can’t waste time on the plane. I bet Lieutenant Chen taught you, right?"

"I don’t, but I can sing. You want to hear?" Gao Neng replied, turning his head.

"Singing?" The soldier was taken aback for a second, then he started to laugh. "Sure, why not? Go on and sing us a song, then! Ha ha..."

Chen Bai’s brow furrowed.

’What the hell is this kid playing at?’

’Can’t he tell the soldier is just messing with him?’

Just as he was about to intervene, Gao Neng had already started belting out a song.

"In a happy pond, a dream was sown, and it grew into an ocean! With bulging eyes and a great big mouth... la... A happy little frog, LEAP FROG... A happy little frog, LEAP FROG..."

"..." Chen Bai was completely dumbfounded.

It wasn’t just Chen Bai; the soldier who had started it all and the others sitting nearby were also stupefied.

A nursery rhyme?!

And the crucial part was, the kid was singing with incredible, passionate gusto!

And man, was he loud!

It was absolutely deafening.

The soldier who had started it all stared at Gao Neng, his mouth twitching. He could already feel the hostile glares from the guys behind him who had been dozing off.

’Serves you right for being a damn chatterbox!’

’You had to go and provoke someone with a huge set of lungs, didn’t you?’

’And a damn nursery rhyme, no less! Can’t he just shut up?!’

’I’ll endure it!’ The soldier gritted his teeth, waiting for Gao Neng to finish.

But Gao Neng was now completely immersed in the pleasure of his rapidly circulating energy. As he continued to sing at the top of his lungs, he could clearly feel his fingers being nourished by the energy of the magnetic core.

’The fingers on my right hand are starting to magnetize? So that’s how it works... Magnetization is the process of nurturing the magnetic core’s energy within the muscles. I get it! Once my muscles possess the energy of the magnetic core, absorbing various energy elements with my body will become a matter of course!’ Sensing the changes in his finger muscles, Gao Neng found it impossible to stop.

He sang at the top of his lungs.

The maddeningly catchy tune of "Little Leaping Frog" echoed through the cabin, over and over again...

By the time Gao Neng was singing it for the fourth time...

The chatterbox soldier’s mouth was twitching, his lips turning pale.

"Kid, can you sing a different song?"

"Weren’t you the one who told him to sing? If you’ve got a problem, plug your ears!" Chen Bai’s own expression was as black as thunder, but he knew that in this situation, no matter what Gao Neng was singing, he had to protect the boy’s dignity.

"..." The chatterbox soldier froze, glanced at Chen Bai, then back at Gao Neng. In the end, he shut his mouth.

’Fine, sing!’

’This flight is two or three hours long!’

’I’d love to see just how damn long you can keep singing, kid!’