Chapter 3: Childhood sweethearts
As he grew older, Lin Zichen began to understand his family background.
They lived in a place called Shanhai City.
Residing in a detached house in an urban village.
Just a simple family of three, with no other relatives.
Both parents were internet novelists with very little social interaction, usually cooped up at home typing away on their keyboards.
Their only social life was the occasional dinner with the family of the baby girl who had just moved in next door.
After several dinner gatherings, Lin Zichen became familiar with the family of the baby girl.
He learned that the baby girl's name was Shen Qinghan, and her parents were both teachers; her mother was Xu Meng, and her father was Shen Jianye.
Beyond that, he didn't know much else.
...
That day.
Lin Zichen celebrated his second birthday.
Right after the celebration, the first thing he did was to find a box of miscellaneous items, loaded it with nearly 20kg of items, and then tried to lift it with one hand.
He lifted it with ease.
"Alright, now I too am a prodigy that astounds the whole country," Lin Zichen smiled to himself.
Just then, Zhang Wanxin's voice came from the living room, "Zi Chen, Han Han is here to play with you!"
Lin Zichen put down the box and walked unhurriedly to the living room.
Upon entering the living room, he saw a beautiful young woman and a delicately pretty little girl, who looked like a porcelain doll.
The visitors were none other than Shen Qinghan and her mother from next door.
The baby girl who once couldn't even crawl had now grown into an adorable little girl with twin ponytails.
"Zi Chen, these are the egg tarts Aunt Meng made; they're really tasty," Xu Meng said, handing over a box of egg tarts with a beaming smile.
Lin Zichen politely accepted the egg tarts and said, "Thank you, Aunt Meng."
This thanks sounded bitterly sweet to Xu Meng's ears.
At the same age, Lin Zichen could already converse fluently with adults, while her own daughter, Shen Qinghan, often couldn't express her thoughts completely.
It was too slow and made her seem quite unintelligent.
Truly, without comparison, there would be no harm.
After staying in the living room for a while and tasting a few egg tarts,
Lin Zichen, with nothing better to do, soon returned to his room, closed the door, and began intense physical training.
Shen Qinghan enjoyed being with him and followed him into the room, sitting beside him curiously watching as he frantically did push-ups off the floor.
"Try, try the egg tart," she said.
As she watched, Shen Qinghan extended an egg tart she was holding toward Lin Zichen's mouth.
Her voice was milky, with some unclear articulation, turning "eat" into "try."
"No need, you can eat it," Lin Zichen replied.
"Try, try it, it's really good," Shen Qinghan insisted that Lin Zichen have some.
Egg tarts were her favorite food, and she definitely wanted to share with Lin Zichen.
Having no other choice, Lin Zichen stopped to eat the egg tart she offered.
After eating the egg tart, he continued his push-up exercises.
After a good while, he felt the intensity was not quite enough; his body's improvement wasn't very noticeable.
As his body became stronger and stronger, simple exercises no longer met his evolutionary needs.
He paused and looked around the room until his gaze finally settled on Shen Qinghan and he had her sit on his back to serve as a weight.
Shen Qinghan was more than willing, clinging to him like a sloth.
While doing weighted push-ups, Lin Zichen noticed a strange sensation coming from Shen Qinghan's back; underneath her skirt, she was wearing a thick diaper.
Still wearing diapers at two years old was clearly a bit unusual.
Lin Zichen had heard Xu Meng lament to Zhang Wanxin about this matter; apparently, Shen Qinghan still liked to wet her pants, so they had to put her in diapers often.
...
Time flew by.
Another year flew by in the blink of an eye.
Lin Zichen turned three years old.
At this time, his physical strength was so abnormal that he could lift a 40kg rice sack single-handedly.
He didn't know what level that was.
All he knew was that the child prodigy from Capital City he saw on TV last year was now far behind him.
He had always been keeping an eye on news about that prodigy.
That prodigy, now four and a half years old, was still challenging himself to lift a 30kg dumbbell with one hand.
The gap in strength had become very substantial.
Lin Zichen was puzzled by this.
How could the Capital City prodigy, who could lift a 20kg dumbbell single-handedly at two, fail to do the same with a 30kg dumbbell at four and a half years old?
The progression of strength did not seem logical.
Lin Zichen thought about it for a moment and did not dwell on it too much, quickly casting the thought aside and opening his character panel to check the data.
[Name: Lin Zichen]
[Age: 3 years old]
[Biological Level: Ordinary (First Order)]
[Biometric Attributes: Use It or Lose It]
Lin Zichen's gaze fell on the Biological Level, where "Ordinary First Order" was still displayed.
If he could lift a 40kg object with one hand and still only be at the Ordinary First Order Biological Level, what level must Ordinary Second Order be?
Surpassing human limits?
While he was thinking, Zhang Wanxin came over from nowhere and said, "Chen, Mom will go shopping with Aunt Meng in a bit, do you want to go shopping with Mom or stay at home with Dad?"
"I'll go shopping with Mom."
Lin Zichen answered without hesitation.
Being cooped up at home practicing every day was a bit stifling; he needed to get out and take a break.
...
As the mother and son changed shoes and went outside, Shen Qinghan and her daughter were already waiting outside.
Three-year-old Shen Qinghan was wearing a dress with lace and a pink butterfly hair clip, her large Carina eyes sparkling, looking adorable and vivacious.
"Chen, have some cookie."
Shen Qinghan broke the cookie in her hand into two pieces, giving Lin Zichen the larger half.
Her voice was no longer babyish or unclear, sounding much smoother.
"Thank you."
Lin Zichen took the cookie and ate it in one bite.
Seeing this, Shen Qinghan's face was full of smiles; she still loved to laugh, also peed as usual, wearing a thick diaper underneath her skirt.
...
[You are walking, Qi-Blood +1, Body Coordination +1, Walking Proficiency +1...]
Upon reaching the street.
Lin Zichen was exercising by walking while observing the surroundings along the way.
The traffic was busy, skyscrapers were everywhere, looking not much different from his past life.
At most, the architectural structures, as well as the vehicles used for transportation, seemed more high-tech.
A noticeable difference was the occasional presence of beastmen and robots among the people.
The so-called beastmen were martial artists who had integrated Exotic Beast Genes, resulting in their bodies exhibiting certain exotic beast characteristics.
Some had beast ears on their heads.
Some had wings on their backs.
Others were covered in scales, like walking lizards in the middle of the crowd.
As for robots, they were Mechanically Modified Humans with several parts of their bodies metallic, looking like Genos from the anime One Punch Man, filled with a cyber-tech style.
Both Genetic Integrators and Mechanically Modified Humans were not numerous, and you would need to walk a long way to occasionally spot one.
However, the appearance of such individuals was quite eye-catching, and they tended to attract attention as soon as they appeared.
...
PS: Begging bowl extended, seeking Monthly Pass recommendations!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone