At exactly 22:00, the lights went out.
Only the dim lights in the hallway remained.
Chu Fei closed his biomechanics textbook, stood up, and groped under the faint light for a spring-loaded knife.
He had bought it from Captain Huang. The blade was 8.5 centimeters long.
It was priced at 15 yuan, but Chu Fei bargained it down to 12, with 2 yuan still owed.
Chu Fei focused his mind. Two drops of Wisdom Dew had accumulated.
"Use one."
In the next moment, his mind became exceptionally sharp. Concepts from biomechanics and ergonomics flashed through his brain.
Holding the knife in his right hand, he practiced while calculating.
He hadn't found any martial arts secrets, but scientific insights from biomechanics were just as valuable.
However, turning that scientific knowledge into combat ability would require hard work.
Chu Fei practiced repeatedly. His movements grew more nimble and fluid.
After about an hour and a half, the effect of the Wisdom Dew began to wear off.
He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
After that intense training session, he was drenched in sweat.
But the gains were remarkable.
Even more surprising, training under the effect of Wisdom Dew left him with no fatigue or muscle strain.
The trade-off was that the Dew's effect lasted 30 minutes less than usual.
Chu Fei twirled the knife with his fingers, the blade fluttering like a butterfly.
An hour and a half of training yielded results equivalent to more than two months of hard work.
"But the success tonight wasn't just because of the Wisdom Dew… It was knowledge!
The math, physics, and biomechanics I learned earlier really helped."
Wiping off the sweat, Chu Fei went to bed with a smile. He woke up at exactly 5:00 AM.
Habits aren't built in a day—but they can be destroyed in one.
Remembering Jiang Shaohu, who was beaten to death, and the girl who jumped off the cliff, Chu Fei had no desire to sleep in.
Learning is like rowing upstream—not advancing means falling behind. And falling behind… means getting beaten.
In the morning, Chu Fei went for a run and attended self-study as usual, then headed to the cafeteria when the time came.
But halfway down the stairs, a large figure blocked his way.
Huang Dapeng!
He stood at the top of the stairs, glaring down at Chu Fei. His eyes narrowed, his twisted face grinned, baring white teeth, his whole body radiating danger.
Chu Fei immediately used his last drop of Wisdom Dew, entering a state of absolute clarity.
He retreated steadily back to the plaza.
Huang Dapeng sneered and stepped forward, closing in, then stood in front of Chu Fei and laughed coldly:
"Kid, your brother Huang is back!
Do you know what I've been through these past three days?!"
Chu Fei paused for a moment and replied faintly, "Eating chicken drumstick sauce? Or was it spicy chicken with gravel rice?"
Huang Dapeng exploded on the spot, raising his hand to slap him.
"You son of a—!"
The next second, he froze.
He saw a pair of emotionless eyes—like a machine.
And a spring-loaded knife embedded in his chest.
Cold. Sharp pain. Endless fear exploded in his soul.
Chu Fei twisted his wrist, and the blade scraped bone with a sickening sound.
Blood spurted, soaking his clothes.
Huang Dapeng's body hunched and sank down.
Chu Fei yanked the knife out and stabbed toward Huang Dapeng's temple.
"Stop!"
A furious roar echoed. Cao Liwen rushed forward.
Chu Fei halted. But the knife blade was already at the temple—then he suddenly kicked the knife's handle.
The blade plunged in to the hilt. Huang Dapeng collapsed slowly.
Cao Liwen lunged, grabbing Chu Fei by the neck and lifting him up, shouting, "I told you to stop!"
Chu Fei, gasping, rasped out, "I did stop."
Cao Liwen: "…"
More people arrived—including Captain Huang.
Captain Huang looked at Chu Fei, then at the twitching body of Huang Dapeng on the ground, and said nothing.
Cao Liwen watched as Chu Fei's face turned blue, then finally dropped him.
Chu Fei gasped desperately and coughed.
Cao Liwen growled through gritted teeth, "Do you have a death wish?!"
Chu Fei calmly replied, "I didn't want to die. That's why I killed him.
Besides, yesterday's conduct rules didn't say killing was forbidden."
Cao Liwen was stunned.
No kidding—there really wasn't such a rule!
Captain Huang spoke up, "Instructor Cao, I killed people back in my day too.
This is the apocalypse—don't talk to me about turning the other cheek.
Of course, if you're willing to take a step back… I'll just keep pushing forward."
Cao Liwen finally snorted coldly and went to deal with Huang Dapeng's corpse.
Captain Huang looked at Chu Fei and grinned. "Good kid! Can you still walk?"
Chu Fei shook his head slightly.
That kick had been too powerful. His right foot was severely injured.
Still, if he had to do it again, he wouldn't hesitate. He had to finish it—no future threat left behind.
Captain Huang supported Chu Fei to the infirmary.
Chu Fei thanked him. Captain Huang said casually, "You still owe me two yuan."
Chu Fei: "…"
The treatment was quick, and Chu Fei even caught the tail end of breakfast.
Everyone stepped back slightly at the sight of his blood-soaked body, not daring to come close.
Only the cafeteria chef beamed, "Impressive, impressive. Took down a near-awakened with one move!"
"Near-awakened? What's that?"
"It means someone with stats approaching 7.8—on the verge of breaking through.
Alright, next."
Chu Fei ate calmly, returned to the dorm, cleaned up, and started reading again.
Time passed. As the Wisdom Dew wore off, the calm in his eyes faded, and his body began to tremble.
The fear, adrenaline, and shock of a first kill all surged at once.
But with two hours of buffer and the Dew's help, Chu Fei quickly composed himself and began to reflect.
The plan had been crude—success relied on luck.
When he stabbed Huang Dapeng in the chest, the resistance was far greater than expected. Thankfully, he had prepared a sharp knife in advance.
Last night's observation had saved him: Jiang Shaohu had scratched Captain Huang's arm but failed to injure him—Chu Fei had taken note.
Huang Dapeng, though not yet at 7.8, was close to it. He already showed some "abnormalities"—a stronger build, tougher skin and muscle, clearly above average.
"Reading… really can change your fate."
Chu Fei continued studying.
Until a knock came.
It was Captain Huang.
He opened the door. Captain Huang said blandly:
"The academy just held a meeting about your punishment.
Killing a near-awakened caused significant loss to the school.
But since Huang Dapeng provoked you first, the punishment is reduced.
From now on, all your penalties will be doubled—
Until your potential breaks past 7.65!"
With that, he turned and left.
Chu Fei gasped.
That's a "reduced" punishment?
Thinking of Jiang Shaohu being beaten to death, Chu Fei growled, "Huang Dapeng started it. Why didn't the school intervene?"
Captain Huang said coldly, "I heard your initial potential is just 7.5587.
But Huang Dapeng was near 7.8. That makes him… superior.
Don't like it? Then break past 7.8!"
Watching him walk away, Chu Fei's fury slowly turned into cold determination.
"Starting tonight—after lights out, meditate for at least one hour."