Chapter 28: I Am a Precious Seedling

Zhang Wei discovered that his WeChat was about to explode.

Never in his life had he received as much attention from everyone as he did at this moment; the various eager greetings from his classmates made his old phone ding incessantly, until it could no longer hold up and the program crashed.

Opening WeChat again, Zhang Wei saw that no fewer than a hundred people had sent him messages, mostly classmates or students from the next class over. The friend requests were also about to burst, with over two hundred people having sent applications; he estimated that those who witnessed that scene that night had tracked down his WeChat ID.

"Congratulations!! By the way, may I ask what your psychological state was like before you Awakened? Tell me so I can use it as a reference."

"Congratulations on your Awakening! Looking forward to the day you ascend to the heavens! Also, may I ask if there are any tips for Awakening?"

……

Zhang Wei was truly happy to see the enthusiasm and curiosity of his classmates.

First, he accepted the friend requests one by one, allowing his Resentment Support Group to expand significantly, ensuring these lovely classmates would continue to provide him with blood transfusions in the days to come.

Then, there were simply too many people asking questions, and everyone asked something different. Replying one by one was too tiring, so Zhang Wei posted a Moments update, the kind that requires clicking to read the full text:

Many people have asked me about the triggers and insights regarding Awakening. Here, I would like to briefly state five points:

………

Many naive classmates, after scrolling to this Moments post, clicked to read the full text full of longing and expectation, only to be dumbfounded to find that there were truly only five dots below, and then their whole mood was ruined.

Damn it, can we still be friends? Is it that fun to tease people?

Absorbed Liu Zhen's Resentment, +77

Absorbed Gao Hongfei's Resentment, +68

……

Over the next period of time, this wave of continuous income brought his Resentment Value balance back to 170,000, and it continued to increase slowly.

Just as Zhang Wei was pondering how to harvest another wave, an unexpected guest arrived at his door.

A massive SUV parked in front of his house, and a middle-aged man with a composed demeanor stepped out. It was none other than Jiang Yuanzhan, the man who had insisted on shaking hands with Bai Guagua at the police station that day.

Jiang Yuanzhan wasn't wearing a Zhongshan suit today; he was dressed in casual clothes, which reduced his sense of solemnity, but the pressure he brought to Zhang Wei hadn't decreased in the slightest—if anything, it was three parts heavier.

You just Awakened, and you show up at my door? What's the meaning of this?

Zhang Wei felt nervous, and the words that came out were a bit mind-boggling: "I was just saying the mice were squeaking like crazy last night; turns out a guest was coming."

Jiang Yuanzhan hadn't even spoken after getting out of the car; he had just managed to reveal a smile when he heard this infuriating remark. He was stunned, momentarily speechless.

Why do mice squeak just because I visit? Am I here to steal your oil? Do mice even go "squeak-squeak"? Or have the mice in your house mutated too?

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +333.

After a moment of silence, the middle-aged man seemed to find nothing to say, so he went straight to the point: "I heard you Awakened?"

There was another layer of meaning in this: How did you manage to Awaken again?

Jiang Yuanzhan truly couldn't understand. Zhang Wei was already a registered Awakened in his files, so how did he cause another scene of Awakening? And the way he made his entrance was so flashy...

Zhang Wei: "Just woke up, just woke up. I haven't even brushed my teeth yet, and you're already here."

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +466.

……This kid is playing dumb. Jiang Yuanzhan took a deep breath and decided to skip over this topic.

"You are a good child. Having gained power, you didn't go out and do evil, but instead saved so many classmates. I came here today on behalf of several parents to express our sincere gratitude to you!"

Bai Guagua, who was hiding and eavesdropping on the side, suddenly jumped out, her eyes shining: "What gratitude? Are there apples?"

The bun-faced girl was still thinking about the deliciousness of the apple from earlier.

The middle-aged man was stunned and suddenly felt a toothache. Why did such a small child also like that thing Jobs made?

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +111

He took a silver card from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Wei: "I heard that you two children are having a difficult time. To commend your act of bravery, this is a small reward from us. The password is six ones."

Zhang Wei let out a breath, a sincere smile appearing on his face, and he accepted it without refusal: "Thank you. Come in and sit for a while, have a cup of water."

Jiang Yuanzhan laughed: "You child, only now do you think of being polite? I won't sit. I'll just say a few more words and leave."

"Please, go ahead."

Jiang Yuanzhan pondered for a moment, then his expression turned solemn: "Last night, did you have a dream where someone instilled in you things that were difficult to understand, yet deeply memorable?"

It seems this matter is no longer a secret, Zhang Wei thought to himself. Should he tell the truth or a lie?

Honestly say he didn't have that dream? But how would he explain the Star Light Body Tempering? Anyone who had such a high-profile Awakening had that dream; it would be hard to justify if he were the only one who didn't.

Being different is being a demon, being unconventional is being a monster... Forget it, he'd better be mediocre.

Zhang Wei nodded and said with a confused look: "I did have such a dream, exactly the same as what some netizens said, but I just can't put it into words."

Jiang Yuanzhan nodded, as expected: "You should know that after the upheaval that night, many incredible things have happened in our world. But no matter what the inside story is... for us humans, Awakening may very well determine the next evolution of our species."

"And evolution may be more important than any other transformation in human history. This is the dawn of a new era. In the future, the Awakened new humans will inevitably become the pillars and backbone of society. Do you understand this?"

Zhang Wei thought for a moment and summarized: "Suppressing all directions, pacifying the disobedient, swallowing the eight wildernesses, and reigning supreme?"

Damn it……

Jiang Yuanzhan suddenly felt a bit of a headache and said helplessly: "That's a bit exaggerated... What I want to tell you is that while the higher-ups may seem to be doing nothing, it doesn't mean they are inactive or letting things slide. All Awakened humans, including middle school students like you, are destined to no longer walk the same path as ordinary people."

Zhang Wei certainly understood this, but he didn't understand why the other party was telling him this. Logically, before all measures were implemented, such words shouldn't come out of his mouth.

Jiang Yuanzhan smiled and patted his shoulder: "Firstly, to let you be mentally prepared. You child... your thinking is a bit complex, so I have to do some ideological work to feel at ease; and secondly..."

"Out of a population of 1.4 billion, we currently have control over barely 80,000 Awakened, and those who Awakened under the starlight are less than one-tenth of that."

That's tens of thousands more than the online statistics, Zhang Wei realized, nodding: "So, people like me are all precious seedlings?"

Jiang Yuanzhan: ……

Child, although what you said is the absolute truth, could you please keep it to yourself?

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +444

He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore, but he still took out an item and handed it over, bracing himself to explain: "Since you obtained the cultivation method in your dream, this item I prepared for you might not be of much use, but take it and look at it anyway, for reference."

"This is?"

"A set of techniques. It was originally a useless classic that had long since fallen into the dustbin of history, but now it has been dug up again. All Awakened should be able to come into contact with it soon; I'm just giving it to you in advance……."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuanzhan started the engine inside the car, his gaze burning as he stared at Zhang Wei and said, "Whether it's from a dream or this thing, go back and ponder it well; don't squander this Opportunity that has fallen from the heavens for you."

Watching the SUV disappear at the mouth of the alley, Zhang Wei opened the item in his hand, only to see four small seal script characters brimming with an ancient air:

"Essential Methods of the Qian Image"

——————————Divider Line————————————

Wishing all the single dogs a Happy New Year.

Wishing all the non-single dogs a Happy Valentine's Day.