1 The Mascot of Year 3 Class 16

Wednesday 14 March, 2019. 3:40 PM. 

Shencheng Research High School, Year 3 Class 16. 

Ding!

As the school bell rang, the students let out a deep sigh—they had been studying all day long. 

Classes were finally over for the day. The following period would be self-study, where students got to calm their nerves. It had truly not been easy to endure such a hard time until that moment. 

When the teacher left the room, diffused noise took over. 

"Quick! Look at the headline on Weibo! Someone else has Awakened! In the Functional System, there is a power that gives you the ability to fly. He has been directly scouted by Meituan and the starting monthly pay is at thirty thousand!" 

"Is that true? Where?" 

A group of students gathered to see what the commotion was all about. Hong Xiaofu joined them too. 

Hong Xiaofu was an eighteen year-old orphan, with above-average looks: fair skin, five feet nine, always the one getting everyone's attention in a crowd. He also had a good temper and was even slightly endearingly silly. He had a good relationship with the rest of his class.

He looked at his classmate's phone screen. There was a young man, who must have been twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, posing with a V sign. Behind him

was a gigantic poster of Meituan Delivery, and beside him a young lady held on to a signboard that read, in large and clear characters: Starting Monthly Pay of 30000. 

Hong Xiaofu was extremely envious. He could not remember when such news of humans Awakening with supernatural abilities had first broken out. 

At the beginning, the government had kept very strict control over the news. Any indication on the internet would be taken down almost immediately right after being posted. Slowly, as more Awakeners started to surface, the government also gradually loosened control and the general public finally came to discover the truth. 

The world had changed. 

"Ah. How I wish I could be Awakened, too!" Hong Xiaofu sighed softly as he walked back to his seat. 

Being Awakened was, at the time, comparable to passing the imperial examinations at the provincial level in feudal times. Anyone who had that ability seemed to have their social status increase multiple times. Even though it was merely the ability to fly through the Functional System, one could easily get a job with a starting monthly pay of thirty thousand. 

Besides, the country cared more about the Awakeners of the Elemental System and the Strengthening System. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Awakeners of both systems were becoming the symbol of the country's confidential information and one of the indicators of military force of the new generation. 

Students showed great interest in following the Awakeners. The strong passion was in many ways similar to those who had, in the past, chased after idols. 

"Big news! There's big news!" 

Hong Xiaofu's thoughts were disrupted by a student who dashed into the classroom and shouted loudly, "The Class Monitor of Class 15 has Awakened! He is an Awakener of the Strengthening System with an integrated constitution! He has been admitted to Qinghua University and he is signing autographs for everyone in his class! If you want his signature you gotta go look for him, quickly!" 

"Shit! Are you serious?!" 

Upon hearing the news, all students became truly excited. 

An Awakener of the Strengthening System--that was as powerful as a classification could possibly be! 

Regardless of the improvement in strength or speed, it was a classification that the country thought very highly of! If you were lucky, you could become the most suitable candidate chosen for battle as an Awakener of the Strengthening System with an integrated constitution. As long as the identity check went well, you could even directly enter the military and bear the title of officer.

In the blink of an eye, half of the students in Class 16 ran outside. 

"Xiaofu, aren't you planning on getting the signature?" Xiaofu's deskmate, Su Ying, asked as she blinked her big, beautiful eyes. 

Su Ying was the Class Monitor of Class 16—a pretty and generous girl. 

Though her family was relatively well off, she was surprisingly not pampered and spoiled, but instead had a good personality. 

She had been extremely caring toward Hong Xiaofu in class, and she had never discriminated against him only because he was an orphan. 

"I'm not going." Hong Xiaofu turned his head and smiled at her before saying, "I'm going to have a good rest for now. I have to work when I get back home later." 

Being an orphan, Hong Xiaofu's only source of money was the funds from the social support group. After becoming of legal age in Year 3, he had looked for an hourly-paid job of some sort where he could work at night and earn his own allowance. 

However, it had proven too time-consuming and the pay was not high. Then, the son of a wealthy classmate, Zhao Ming, offered him a job to be a replacement gamer. He just had to level up and unlock more features in the popular online game DNF. 

In all honesty, Zhao Ming merely took pity on him for his tough life—he wanted to lend him a helping hand since his family was very rich. He did not have time to play the game himself, so it was a win-win situation to let Hong Xiaofu help him level up, unlock more stages, and win weapons in the game. Of course, the pay was not too low. He earned 40 dollars a day by managing two gaming accounts, excluding the fees for selling weapons. He would have enough to spend each month by being a little thrifty. 

It wasn't a secret that Shencheng Research High School was a good environment. The students were friendly and there had been little to no cases of bullying in school. Moreover, as the students knew about Hong Xiaofu's family background, they showed extra concern for him. 

Su Ying let out a sigh as she looked at Hong Xiaofu, who was smiling vibrantly. He was a good person, but he had a tough life… poor thing. 

The students who had flown out of the class earlier quickly ran back. 

Soon, the bell signalling the end of the self study period sounded. Those who had managed to get the autograph were over the moon, while those who had failed were sullen. 

Zhao Ming, who was seated in front of Hong Xiaofu, clearly had not managed. He sighed, "I was late, I was late!" 

Looking at his sad face, Hong Xiaofu quickly nudged him and smiled at him while saying, "Don't be upset, it is just an autograph, right? Look at me, what is there to be upset about?" 

Zhao Ming turned his head to look at him. Suddenly, he broke into a grin. 

"Right, you are so optimistic, why should I even be upset? It's just an autograph, what's the big deal! I won't stay hung up on that, let's try to sell some equipment tonight!" 

Hong Xiaofu gave him a thumbs up and agreed, "Of course!" 

It was certainly common understanding in Year 3 Class 16 that Hong Xiaofu was looked upon as the mascot of the class. 

Who would be more pitiful than him? 

Even when people were bitter and unhappy, they would be reminded of how optimistic Hong Xiaofu was even as an orphan. What else was there to be discontented about? 

"Students." 

Mr Li Hong, the Class Mentor, who was wearing spectacles and holding a document in his hand, walked onto the platform swiftly. 

After the class had quietened down, Mr Li Hong smiled and said, "There's good news. I just came from a meeting. According to document number 20191014, each school has to actively source students who have the potential to be Awakened or have already been Awakened. The third rule in this document, any students who have been Awakened must report to the Ministry of Education immediately. They would then send professionals here for a test before sending the Awakeners to Shencheng Engineering University to further their studies. In other words, once you have been Awakened, you would be automatically enrolled into the 985 Shencheng Engineering University."

He continued, "That is only part of it. In addition, every student who has been successfully Awakened will receive three thousand dollars of financial aid every month while they are schooling."

Lastly, Li Hong read the last line of the document, "Furthermore, our school will send out the test kit for the Awakener's potential assessment for everyone to try tomorrow. That's all, you may continue with your self study." 

As soon as Mr Li Hong ended his speech, the classroom once again fell into chaos. 

"Oh my god, is that the treatment now? It's Shencheng Engineering University! 985! If you are an Awakener you can enter directly without taking the college entrance exam!" 

"Damn, that really is reaching the highest level in only one step!" 

"Are we gonna be able to test for the natural endowments tomorrow? Oh my god, I am not prepared!" 

Su Ying nudged Hong Xiaofu lightly and whispered, "Xiaofu, did you hear that? If you can be Awakened you don't have to worry about your expenses anymore. Good luck! I hope you will be able to pass the assessment tomorrow!" 

"Yup, I hope so." Hong Xiaofu giggled while ruffling his hair. He continued, "The results are really unpredictable. It's a bit of a leap in the dark. I guess I need to depend on luck?" 

Upon hearing his words, Su Ying nodded her head and let out a sigh before she said, "That's right. I don't know if I'll have the chance to pass the assessment either." 

Hong Xiaofu immediately tried to cheer her up, "You definitely have a chance! You are kind, smart, and pretty. If you can't pass the assessment, other people won't even stand a chance. Good luck!" 

Su Ying breathed in deeply and said, "Yup, I hope we pass together!" 

The self study period passed quickly. Hong Xiaofu packed his bag swiftly and was prepared to go home. 

Just as he walked to the door, Mr Li Hong smiled and stood up. He patted Hong Xiaofu's shoulder and said, "You are going home? Don't forget your homework at night. Let's walk together since we are going in the same direction." 

Hong Xiaofu smiled and nodded his head before saying, "Alright, Mr Li." 

They walked out of the classroom building. 

Usually, there will be food stalls set up at the entrance of the school. Students would go there after their classes to get food such as cold noodles, scallion pancakes, and savoury crêpes. Li Hong took out his wallet at once and bought three crêpes. He passed two of them to Hong Xiaofu and said, "You do not have much time at night."

Li Hong was aware of Hong Xiaofu taking on the job as a replacement gamer. 

After all he was just a student in high school and he even had a younger sister to take care of—he must have had a source of income. 

At the beginning, Li Hong had been afraid that Hong Xiaofu's job would affect his studies. After some time, he had come to understand his situation—to Hong Xiaofu, the main priority was to be able to put food on the table. As important as studies were, he had to survive first.

After coming to terms with the situation, Li Hong had tried to help in any way that he could. After all, he was Hong Xiaofu's Class Mentor. To a child without any relatives, he could be considered part of his family, too. 

"Thank you teacher." This was not the first time Li Hong had bought food for Hong Xiaofu. Hong Xiaofu did not say much as he quickly put the food into his bag and said, "Thank you for the treat." 

"It didn't cost that much." Li Hong smiled and said while walking, "Anyway, I am in a better condition than you are, you just have to visit me often in the future after you make a name for yourself. Oh right, the assessment is tomorrow. I'm not too sure how it would turn out for you. It would be good if you were Awakened, you would have it easier in the future, at least you wouldn't have to worry about your living expenses." 

"That's right." Hong Xiaofu burst out laughing, showing his white teeth, and said, "Don't worry teacher, I can do it!" 

As he spoke, Hong Xiaofu kept praying in his heart that he would be able to. 

I hope I can. I hope I can be Awakened! If it doesn't happen, I will not be able to repay all the kindness I have gotten from all my teachers and classmates!