Hearing Zhang Linyun’s name, Xu Ze’s heart ached again. But he was also touched that Luozi had stood up for him. Still, he couldn’t help but worry. “Did things get out of hand?”
Luozi grinned painfully and patted Xu Ze’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. When guys fight, whether you win or lose, no one’s going to snitch.”
“Our teammates were awesome. As soon as they found out it was Tao Zhixiong, they didn’t need me to say a word—they all jumped in. We beat the Economics guys so bad they were crying for their moms! Hah… ouch…” Luozi’s laughter was cut short as he accidentally pulled at his injured lip. Xu Ze quickly grabbed a bottle of medicated oil from the drawer and applied it to Luozi’s wounds.
By ten that night, after checking the next day’s schedule and reviewing some notes, Xu Ze went to bed early. But his sleep was far from peaceful. In his drowsy state, he heard that strange voice again:
“System energy has reached 35%. System analysis suggests waiting until energy reaches 50% before optimization to avoid system hibernation. Beep… Alert: Active data synchronization failed. External data collection and analysis complete. Host environment is abnormal. Unable to establish connection with Federal Central Computer. Data synchronization impossible. Comprehensive analysis indicates current environment is 65% similar to Federal environment, approximating early 21st-century Earth levels.”
“To conserve energy, external data exploration and analysis are suspended. Continuing host super medic training protocol.”
The next morning, Xu Ze woke up, his head pounding as he tried to make sense of the dream—or was it a dream? He clutched his head in agony, his mind racing. “What’s going on? Was that real? Or just some weird dream?”
After a long struggle to push these bizarre thoughts aside, Xu Ze got up at the urging of Luozi and the others to grab breakfast before class. But to his dismay, he found that his appetite was still insatiable. Under the stunned gazes of Luozi, Gangzi, and Fatty, Xu Ze devoured six large steamed buns and two bowls of porridge before finally feeling somewhat full.
“Dammit… What am I going to do? At this rate, the little money I make each month won’t even cover my food expenses!”
Fatty blinked, staring at Xu Ze’s pained expression, and finally couldn’t hold back. He turned to Luozi, the only one in the dorm who usually ate more than him, and asked, “Big bro, can you eat that much in one morning?”
“Uh… I usually eat more at lunch or dinner. In the morning, I…” Luozi looked at Xu Ze, swallowed hard, and then shook his head helplessly.
“Could it be that he’s still recovering from the shock? Or maybe he thinks being bigger will attract girls?” Gangzi glanced at Xu Ze, then at Luozi, and rubbed his nose. “But that can’t be. Big bro’s single status is proof enough…”
Xu Ze, however, had no interest in joining their banter. He was too preoccupied with his own confusion and frustration. With a pained sigh, he decided to leave the cafeteria. The rich aroma of food was making him hungry again, and he couldn’t bear it.