Chapter Eight: Humanity Has Its Limits!

Under normal circumstances, putting aside professional athletes who train year-round and those “prodigies” with outstanding natural abilities, there certainly is a difference in physical stats between an average seventeen-year-old and an ordinary twenty-five-year-old, but it shouldn’t be too great. In fact, when it comes to fighting, an adult might not even be able to beat a teenager. Of course, that could also be attributed to the recklessness of the ignorant.

Zhou Shu’s physical stats were essentially all in the 0.7 range—well, except for his mental attribute, which was remarkably higher in comparison. Among his other four attributes, agility was the highest at 0.75, and endurance the lowest at 0.72. He considered himself healthy, with a good appetite and few illnesses each year, so his stats were probably around average for a seventeen-year-old, weren’t they?

Conveniently, the classroom was full of young men and women his age—a perfect opportunity to compare. The only question was whether his “golden finger” had such a function.

Naturally, it did. After all, this thing was a support system for super soldiers, and analyzing the enemy’s stats was a crucial feature.

The system gave Zhou Shu two options: one was to scan the entire class from a distance, instantly obtaining the stats of dozens of people with a 95% accuracy rate, but it would consume 0.1 units of source energy. The other was a close-range scan—anyone within a meter radius—with the same 95% accuracy, but no source energy required; he’d only need to eat a bit more at lunch to recover.

Notably, neither scan revealed mental attributes, since that particular stat was shrouded in mystery and couldn’t be detected remotely; specialized equipment placed over the head was needed for that.

Glancing at his meager 1.7 units of source energy, Zhou Shu decisively chose the second option.

“Damn it, poverty kills ambition!”

“I have to find a way to get more source energy—so I can use it however I want!”

He sighed inwardly.

[Scanning in close range…]

In about ten seconds, the general stats of his classmates in front, behind, and to either side appeared before him. Because of the scanning limitations, the attributes were displayed as ranges, but all fell within the 0.7 bracket.

Take the two girls in front of him, for example: their strength was just above the 0.7 threshold, and judging by their appearances, they probably couldn’t bring it fully into play. It was like in the standing long jump test—boys would leap with all their might, while the girls… Well, best not to go into that.

But their agility was notably high—much higher than the boys’.

The other attributes varied among them, but what surprised him was that his own constitution was the lowest among the group! Even with the scans only being 95% accurate, his stat was at the bottom.

What?

“Am I really that weak? I don’t feel it…”

He reached up to touch the arm of his glasses, wondering if it was because of his nearsightedness. Aside from that, he couldn’t think of another reason, and compared to others, his eyes truly were in a constant state of ‘illness.’

He was so focused on his physical health that he overlooked another attribute that was even lower than his constitution. He had been busy comparing his own “standing” among the group, but with so many attributes and fluctuations among the seven or eight people around him, it was difficult to judge, so he hadn’t paid attention to the others.

Eventually, he decided it was best to look at the averages. Calculating his own average (excluding mental attributes), it came out to 0.735, and the other boys’ averages were about the same. A quick glance around explained it: there was a chubby boy and a skinny one nearby. The chubby boy had lower agility, the skinny one had less strength, and Zhou Shu had the lowest constitution—so averaged out, they managed a certain balance.

The girls’ averages were similar, just a touch lower. Although some of their attributes lagged behind, their agility was impressively high.

Clearly, excluding mental attributes, Zhou Shu’s averages were nothing special.

He spent time on these calculations not only to assess where he stood among his peers but also because the system needed the information.

But compared to Zhou Shu’s modest goals, the system’s ambitions were greater: it wanted to compile a complete human attribute profile. Human civilization was a brand-new race to it, and to cultivate a super soldier unique to this civilization—Zhou Shu—it had to understand the baseline. Only by mapping out human data could it plan Zhou Shu’s optimal path for growth in combat ability.

So, its recommendation to Zhou Shu was to wander around the school after class, get close to people of different ages and professions, and let the system collect as much data as possible for comparison and to build a thorough profile.

Zhou Shu, however, had different thoughts. Becoming a super soldier sounded impressive, but could human flesh and blood really compare to mechanical power? Take his current 100-meter sprint: he barely broke thirteen seconds, while the world record stood at 9.58. As for lifting, he could manage fifty kilograms in a sloppy form, but elite weightlifters could hoist more than 260 kilograms.

But all of that paled in comparison to machinery.

A car could easily travel tens or even hundreds of kilometers per hour, while the world’s fastest sprinter didn’t even reach forty. And that sprinter couldn’t sustain top speed for even a minute—barely a dozen seconds, really—whereas a car, given enough fuel, could run for days and nights; it was only the human driver who’d tire out.

To Zhou Shu, it was clear: humans had their limits, and simply boosting brute strength was hardly reliable. If he had a choice, he’d rather become a super scientist!

He was still growing, and even without source energy, he’d reach normal adult stats in a few years. Right now, his attributes were all in the 0.7 range; by adulthood, he might be up to 0.8, 0.9, maybe even higher. Still, he doubted the average person could ever surpass 1.

Even though 1.7 units of source energy wasn’t much, if he put it all into one attribute, that stat would stand out like a herniated disc! Perhaps he’d become a hero who could lift cauldrons, a legendary courier who could travel a thousand miles a day, or a master thief as graceful as a startled swan or a swimming dragon…

But just like in “Edge of Tomorrow,” where fighting monsters required powered exoskeletons, showing up unarmed would only make him cannon fodder.

In the real world, boosting physical strength might make him a top athlete in his prime, but that was the most he could hope for.

If, however, he invested all 1.7 units into intelligence and became a super scientist, and then leveraged the black technology from “Edge of Tomorrow” and even more sci-fi worlds, he could accelerate the entire progress of human civilization—perhaps even leap straight into the interstellar age.

One day, humanity’s starships might set sail, and he could lead the way to discovering alien life. Then, he’d have access to an endless supply of source energy, free to do as he pleased.

Even if he wasn’t so lucky and never acquired more source energy, he could still thrive in human society as a super scientist.

That was the general plan—though there were some… minor issues.

He couldn’t spend all 1.7 units of source energy on intelligence, since entering and leaving the virtual battlefield also required energy. In the end, he might only be able to add 1 unit to intelligence.

Still, that wasn’t bad; if the average person’s cap was 1, adding another point would make him a certified genius.

But the biggest problem was—

No matter how he searched the data panel, he couldn’t find any option to add points to intelligence!

PS: The contract has been sent—now you can invest for free and earn a wave of bonus points for the signing reward. The international lockdown has finally lifted, deliveries have resumed, and this minor author humbly asks for your support!