Chapter 9: Fashion Comes Full Circle

On the first day of the internship, Ye Chao stood out with a dazzling score of 120, far ahead of the rest. Following closely behind was a group led by the long-legged Miss Xu Tiange, the full-score brigade—about a dozen in number.

Fighting above one’s level and leveling up in the heat of battle normally earned extra points, but this area was so safe that not a single unexpected incident occurred. There was no chance to answer bonus questions, and certainly no opportunity for sudden upgrades.

When the results were announced, the cave erupted with a cacophony of voices.

Someone sighed in regret, “If only I had three more minutes. Just three minutes!”

Alpha Ji retorted, “Three minutes? That’s way too fast. It wouldn’t help.”

Others shouted, “Ah! There was still something in cave number nineteen? How could I have missed it?”

Alpha Ji chimed in, “Clearly, you’re not big enough.”

In the midst of the bustling crowd, Fang Ju squeezed his way to Ye Chao’s side. “Once again, I benefit from your brilliance.”

Because Ye Chao had “cracked” the encrypted content on the military tablet, Fang Ju also received some extra rewards.

“Just luck,” Ye Chao replied modestly, but silently added: It really was just luck!

If Fang Ju had handed in the first-aid kit himself, he wouldn’t have had the -40 point deduction, but it would only have counted for 5 points. By giving it to Ye Chao, Ye Chao earned an extra 10 points for Fang Ju’s tablet—everyone was pleased.

Looking at the scoreboard, Fang Ju’s first-day score was 96, quite impressive.

“This is interesting,” Alpha Ji observed, “this exam isn’t just about skill—it tests popularity too!”

Those with real talent, like Ye Chao, naturally earned high scores. Those with good relationships, even if lacking in technical skill, could trade and gain points from their close connections. Or they could exert leadership, getting others to do their scoring for them—the rules didn’t seem to prohibit that.

But… “With a face as plain as that, how does Fang Ju have good popularity?” Alpha Ji wondered.

“So his name is Fang Ju? Fang Ju, Fang Ju—ha! His parents must have really feared he wouldn’t turn out square enough.” She couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“What are you talking about?” Ye Chao was baffled. “You said… Fang Ju is ugly? What nonsense! Fang Ju has a broad, square face, a robust build. Lots of girls chase after him at school—he’s very popular.”

Alpha Ji: (⊙.⊙)…

“I’ve never been to school, so don’t try to fool me!”

Yet as she watched Fang Ju seamlessly blend into the crowd, leaving a trail of laughter behind, especially as he passed by the girls… Ye Chao might not have been lying after all.

Alpha Ji felt a great urge to vent, but the satisfaction was undeniable.

“So fashion really does come full circle…”

==========

After finishing the tests and announcing the scores, it was time for dinner.

The food had long been prepared. Once the scores were checked and the jokes exchanged, the students lined up for utensils and meals, each seeking their own spot.

Given that this was a teaching internship with rough conditions, there were virtually no tables—it was just a matter of finding a place to squat Asian-style.

“What… what… what is all this?”

Alpha Ji was once again utterly nonplussed at the sight of Ye Chao’s meal.

“Dinner. What’s the matter?” Ye Chao munched on a wrinkled apple, looking up in confusion.

“Is that… pickled vegetables? Doesn’t seem quite right…”

“Oh, those are dried fruits!”

“So, dried fruits dipped in soy sauce?” Alpha Ji suddenly felt queasy, unable to comprehend the tastes of humans in this era.

“And that sticky, pale lump—what is it, some sort of fried thing?”

“That fried thing? You’re being too vague.” Ye Chao frowned, glancing at Alpha Ji’s landing spot. “Ah, that’s the legendary scrambled eggs. Haven’t you seen them before?”

He poked at the “scrambled eggs” with chopsticks. “I heard that before the Cataclysm, eggs were one of the most common and nutritious foods for humans.”

“How could this possibly be scrambled eggs? Where’s the yolk? This sticky white stuff isn’t right at all—did the chef flunk out of culinary school? And…” Alpha Ji paused, “How did scrambled eggs become legendary? What happened to the world in these thirty years? Did I cross over to another planet? Is this not my Earth?”

“Nobody dares eat them, so they became legends,” Ye Chao said, stabbing a forkful of egg and chewing noisily, making Alpha Ji feel even more nauseous.

“Nobody dares eat them? You mean eggs? Then what are you eating?”

“Cultured eggs made from fungi. Why, do they not resemble eggs?”

Not even a trace of resemblance…

“And what’s that?” In the tray were two red strips, each about two fingers wide, formed from intertwined strands—if not looked at closely, it appeared as though many little worms were wriggling about.

“Oh, this is something special! Only someone like me would know—it’s artificially cultured terror bovine meat, made from the somatic cells of pre-Cataclysm terror cattle. Supposedly, it was extremely rare and expensive before the disaster.”

Ye Chao picked up a strip and savored it. “It’s probably because we’re on internship and need the extra nutrition—otherwise, you’d rarely get to eat it!”

“This is definitely not beef! Don’t desecrate the name of beef!”

Alpha Ji was furious ╰_╯

I’ve never tasted beef, eggs, or milk—not a single delicacy. The programmers who created me said that after seeing and hearing, it’d be time for smell and taste, but…

In any case, don’t ruin my ideal image of food!

And what on earth is a terror bovine?

Ye Chao: “……”

As silence fell, the ground suddenly trembled.

At first, everyone thought it was an illusion, but soon a second, stronger tremor came, shaking the lights in the hall.

“Seems like there’s something in the shaft?”

“Yes, something’s coming in through the shaft!”

“Everyone, be careful—hold your trays, don’t spill your food.”

A chorus of shouts rose, mingled with piercing alarms, filling the cave in an instant.

It seemed the intruder heard the alarms and sped up its approach.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”—violent tremors followed one after another. The vertical shaft collapsed in a flash, dirt and rocks tumbled down, raising a cloud of dust that blocked the entrance, and one could vaguely see a massive creature falling to the ground along with the elevator.

At the moment of impact, the cave’s lights went out completely!

The elevator in the shaft had been temporarily installed for the internship, along with all the power cables for the instruments. Clearly, the intruder and the elevator’s fall had severed the lines.

Another great quake shook the cave. Everyone, already barely able to keep their footing, now faced a fierce shockwave. The robust PE teachers managed to stand firm, bracing against the wind, while the weaker science teachers and students were sent sprawling, tumbling together in chaos.

In the darkness, someone wailed, “Ah, I haven’t finished my meal!”

Another consoled, “Don’t worry, if you pick it up within five seconds, it’s still edible.”

Someone else continued to moan, “But I can’t find it!”