Opening his eyes slowly, Xu Ze realized it was already dawn. The sounds he had heard were likely Luozi turning over in bed—he was about to wake up.
Xu Ze stood up and checked his watch—it was past 6:00 AM. He was surprised to find that completing three cycles of energy circulation had taken him an hour and a half. Completing nine cycles would indeed be no easy task.
Seeing that it was still early and Luozi would be up soon, Xu Ze decided there wasn’t enough time for more energy training. He changed into a set of workout clothes he hadn’t worn in a while. Noticing that the clothes seemed a bit short, Xu Ze frowned. It had been over a year since he last wore them—apparently, he had grown a bit. Without overthinking it, he headed out for a run.
It had been a long time since Xu Ze last went for a run. As he jogged toward North Lake, he frowned slightly, recalling that he hadn’t run since he started working part-time at the clinic. The last time he had gone for a run was during the first half of his sophomore year—over a year ago.
The sight of the cherry blossom trees by the lake, shrouded in a thin mist, and the beautiful blossoms gradually lifted Xu Ze’s spirits, which had been gloomy lately. He took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and ran along the lakeside path.
“Not bad. You’re quite self-disciplined. I didn’t even have to remind you.” A sudden voice echoed in Xu Ze’s mind.
“Huh?!” Startled by the unexpected voice, Xu Ze stumbled, nearly falling into the lake. He grabbed onto a cherry blossom tree to steady himself, his heart racing. After catching his breath, he scolded angrily, “Xiao Dao, can’t you stop appearing out of nowhere like that? You nearly scared me to death!”
Xiao Dao’s teasing voice sounded again in his mind, “Heh… If you can’t handle a little scare, how are you going to survive as a super medic?”
“Hmph…” Xu Ze snorted in dissatisfaction. “Didn’t you say you were low on energy and wouldn’t recover until tonight? How come you’re here now?”
“Surprised?” Xiao Dao replied. “Who knew you’d be so diligent? I was in light hibernation to conserve energy for just over an hour when you started your energy circulation training. The energy you generated from three cycles was enough to wake me up and establish a mental connection with you. Of course, to re-enter the virtual simulation like yesterday, you’ll need to complete at least six more cycles.”
“That thing yesterday was called a virtual simulation?”
“Yes, exactly. It’s a virtual space where your consciousness can enter. In this space, you can learn and simulate various training scenarios,” Xiao Dao explained. “It’s an essential tool for every super medic and a core component of the super medic auxiliary system. You’ll be spending a lot of time in the virtual simulation from now on.”
“You’ve just undergone primary genetic optimization, and your physical fitness has reached F-rank. You’ve also gained the authority of a trainee medic. However, your knowledge is still far from that of a Level 1 medic. So, your main tasks now are energy circulation training and systematic knowledge acquisition. The virtual simulation is indispensable for your learning.”
“What? I have to learn through that virtual simulation? What exactly do I need to learn?” Xu Ze asked curiously.
“A lot. From basic physiology, biology, and chemistry to diagnostics, internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, psychology, and more—these are all mandatory subjects for a Level 1 medic.”