Resurrection Empire

While pondering, a group of vibrant young girls turned the corner and walked alongside him, laughing and chatting all the way.

It was unclear if it was intentional or a coincidence, but their walking speed matched Ren Zhong's, and they walked alongside him for quite a while as he returned to the classroom.

Ren Zhong didn't intentionally eavesdrop, but he still caught every word of the lively conversation the group was having.

Their topics ranged far and wide, discussing the latest TV dramas, some brand's new facial cleanser, and where another high-rank Ruined Beast had appeared.

Unlike the fearful attitude towards Ruined Beasts among the wild people, these girls showed not a hint of dread when talking about high-rank Ruined Beasts. Instead, they were full of interest, as if discussing a fascinating mirage.

As they entered the teaching building, Ren Zhong slightly quickened his pace, leaving the girls behind.

As a Fourth Level professional, his Physical Index had soared to several thousand. His Five Senses had all improved, and his hearing was much better than it was back on Earth.

He vaguely heard the group still talking in the hallway behind him.

"Is this really that Ren Zhong who went viral online yesterday?"

"I told you to look back at him a couple of times, but you didn't dare, and now you're asking. I bet you a hundred points it's definitely him."

"I saw him frowning all the time, looking preoccupied. How could I dare greet him!"

"Ha, he's a bit aloof. But he's really handsome!"

"I agree!"

Ren Zhong smiled wryly.

The girls were probably not even twenty, around seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen years old.

They were about the same age as Zheng Tian and Chen Hanyu.

Zheng Tian would sometimes wear makeup and take care of her skin, but that was after Ren Zhong appeared.

Zheng Tian watched dramas too, but she would soon forget them, with her mind mostly filled with thoughts of Ruined Beasts and hunting, or pondering whether there were any cost-effective bargains at the flea market.

Chen Hanyu, being the "bookworm," went without saying.

In the same youthful years, these people were enjoying life, while Zheng Tian and Chen Hanyu were struggling to survive.

Different growing environments molded drastically different personalities and worldviews.

Such a life, once missed, is forever lost.

Even if Zheng Tian and Chen Hanyu were placed in school now, they could never live like the Citizen girls.

Walking alone for so long, the heavy feeling in Ren Zhong's heart had dissipated considerably.

He recalled the unsettling things other trainees mentioned at the dining table in seemingly calm tones, and the somewhat out-of-control emotions he felt at the time.

He realized something.

Actually, his dissatisfaction wasn't specifically aimed at any one person, not even Wu Big Mouth or Li Ruoling.

He didn't resent these people.

The environment shapes human nature; their views are products of the social system, consistent with reason and sentiment.

But Ren Zhong didn't plan to "forgive" these people either.

In the same environment, there were still people like the Ma family, Ju Qingmeng, and the guy at the table who nonchalantly mentioned over two thousand deaths.

Unlike the wild people who had no choice, Citizens had the right to choose who they wanted to become.

At the turning point of fate, these people followed the darker side of human nature, making malicious choices, immersing themselves in the gratification derived from the effortless or low-effort benefits of oppressing the wild people.

If one day Ren Zhong could completely accept this kind of thinking, it would mean he'd been assimilated.

He refused.

However, Ren Zhong wouldn't confront anyone directly, at least not now.

It's meaningless.

Ren Zhong had also changed his strategy.

He's no longer interested in making friends here.

Of course, he wouldn't become indifferent; he would just cloak himself with a better disguise.

The afternoon passed, and Ren Zhong declined others' invitations for a dinner gathering, instead taking his study materials back to his suite at the Alson Hotel.

First, he contacted the heads of both companies, Wang Zhaofu, managing Starfire Resources, and Liang Qifa of Chromium Carbon Resources, holding a brief online meeting to ensure the companies were operating smoothly.

Then he fully immersed himself in learning.

Knowledge, which death cannot take away, was truly his own wealth, and he'd never have enough of it.

The afternoon passed, and he had learned up to lesson twenty-seven.

The class was currently on lesson one hundred twenty-nine.

At this pace, Ren Zhong had the chance to catch up with the class within six days at most, and then surpass them.

At ten in the evening, there was another pure theory class.

At five in the morning, the theory class ended.

Next came freedom time for all trainees in the hibernation space.