Chapter 61: Who Are You Looking At?
Early the next morning.
Vought officially sent Lin Mo and Joanna's course schedules to their inboxes.
You have to admit, Vought's efficiency in this regard was ridiculously high.
Having just checked in yesterday, today everything from courses, textbooks, student permissions, and even their campus cards had been completely arranged.
Lin Mo casually glanced over them.
There weren't many regular courses: Media Response, Public Image Management, Crisis Public Relations, Superhero Ethics...
Wait a minute, Lin Mo seemed to have found something interesting. Was this Superhero Ethics the one he was thinking of?
How bizarre. Just looking at the name, you could tell what these things were actually teaching.
To put it bluntly.
Even though Godolkin University bore the name of a university, what it truly cultivated were never students in any normal sense.
They were products.
As for the core courses Lin Mo and Joanna truly needed to take, which were the classes primarily assigned by the college, they were separately categorized into another section.
The Lamplighter Crimefighting College.
When Lin Mo saw this name, he wasn't particularly surprised. Godolkin University naturally sorted students to varying degrees based on their abilities, potential, and future development directions.
And the Crimefighting College was the most core group. Students who could enter here had to at least have some real skills. Abilities that could only make fingernails change color or slightly control body temperature were basically impossible to be assigned here.
After all, if they were truly pushed to the front lines to fight criminals in the future, they couldn't even beat criminals and get caught as hostages; that would be a huge joke.
As for regular students who couldn't enter the Lamplighter Crimefighting College, they could only go to the Red Countess School of Performing Arts to be artists. Perhaps with good luck, they could even become popular stars, but in terms of fame, they definitely couldn't compare to superheroes.
Joanna wasn't very interested in these courses; the only thing she cared about was whether she could be together with Lin Mo.
"Are we taking classes together?"
"Mhm."
Lin Mo glanced at the schedule.
"Most of them are together."
Joanna was immediately satisfied.
As for what the courses themselves were, she obviously didn't care at all. The things she had learned in the bunker were already more than enough.
...
Time quickly arrived at 9:00 AM, at the Crimefighting College.
This was also the classroom for their first class. The classroom was much larger than Lin Mo had imagined. Rather than a classroom, it looked more like a small training gym.
The surrounding walls were clearly specially reinforced, and right in front was a huge display screen, with quite a bit of training equipment placed next to it.
The two of them had just walked through the door.
The classroom, which had been somewhat noisy, visibly quieted down for a moment. Obviously, yesterday's events had already spread.
Vought's exclusive vehicle, along with the overly cautious attitude of that group of Vought staff.
Just these few points were enough to make quite a few students develop an interest in them.
Lin Mo didn't pay attention to those gazes, casually finding a seat in the back to sit down, and Joanna naturally followed and sat beside him.
And not long after Lin Mo sat down,
not far away, a familiar voice rang out.
"Hey."
Lin Mo raised his eyes to look. Oh, isn't this an old acquaintance? But obviously, the other party didn't know him yet.
A-Train.
Today he was wearing a tracksuit, and overall he looked much more formal than yesterday.
Beside him, that guy Lin Mo had already seen yesterday was still following along.
The Deep, meaning Kevin.
Of course, A-Train was obviously just casually saying hello. He held a trace of goodwill towards Lin Mo, for no other reason than simply skin color—neither of them was white.
Besides, after all, they would be students of the same college from now on, seeing each other all the time.
But The Deep's attention was clearly not on Lin Mo.
He looked toward Joanna, and a smile he considered quite decent quickly appeared on his face.
"We didn't have time to officially meet yesterday."
"I am Kevin."
"You can call me—"
Before he finished speaking,
Joanna had already turned her head to look over. The mood that had been pretty good just because she was sitting next to Lin Mo visibly faded away.
However, The Deep didn't notice it at all and was even prepared to continue speaking.
Lin Mo glanced at him, feeling somewhat impressed in his heart.
For this guy to live so long in the future, in a certain sense, his luck was indeed quite good; however, his emotional intelligence was pathetically low.
Fortunately, right when Joanna's brow was already slightly furrowing and she was about to get angry,
the door at the front of the classroom was suddenly pushed open, and a teacher walked in.
"Quiet down, everyone."
"Today's course schedule is temporarily adjusted."
"All Crimefighting College students, gather at Comprehensive Testing Ground Number One."
"To conduct the first ability test of this semester."
As the words fell,
a wave of discussion immediately sounded in the classroom, though not many people found it strange; obviously, such tests were very common here.
Relying on his Super Hearing, Lin Mo quickly understood the reason.
The abilities of superhumans were not completely fixed from the moment of awakening; some people's abilities would continue to strengthen as they grew older, while others would gradually develop new ways of using them during the training process.
Even for a tiny minority, a secondary change in ability would occur.
Therefore, Godolkin University would re-evaluate students' abilities every once in a while.
And the evaluation results, besides affecting subsequent course arrangements, would also directly affect school rankings. For the students here, rankings were not just a number.
Vought's exposure resources, commercial partnerships, internship opportunities, and even whether they were qualified to enter a better superhero team after graduation were all related to rankings.
No wonder upon hearing about the test, quite a few people immediately became serious.
The Deep could only temporarily give up continuing to strike up a conversation and walked outside with the crowd.
Joanna looked at his back.
"What did he want just now?"
"Probably wanted to get to know you."
Lin Mo said casually.
"Why?" Joanna was puzzled; she had never encountered this kind of thing before.
"Maybe he thinks you look good."
Joanna paused for a moment, and then her expression became even more disgusted.
"I don't want to get to know him."
"Then don't get to know him."
Lin Mo nodded slightly. The Deep was just insignificant. If Joanna was made angry, whatever she might do to The Deep wasn't his concern—The Seven wasn't like they couldn't swap members.
Hearing Lin Mo's response, a smile hung on Joanna's face again, and she was satisfied once more.
...
Ten-odd minutes later, they followed the stream of people to Comprehensive Testing Ground Number One.
Lin Mo stood at the entrance and glanced around slightly.
The venue was even larger than he had imagined, almost like a huge fully renovated playground, divided into multiple areas in the middle.
Roughly divided into these: a speed testing zone, strength testing zone, endurance testing zone, and a closed area specifically used for testing special abilities.
Around them were set up a large number of cameras and testing equipment; Vought obviously wouldn't waste a single piece of data.
Moreover, the people who came this time were clearly not just their cohort.
Lin Mo's gaze swept a circle through the crowd.
Very quickly,
his line of sight stopped not far away.
A tall girl was standing on the other side of the crowd.
Dark red long hair, her expression could not be considered enthusiastic, even a bit aloof.
However, Lin Mo recognized her at a glance. Although he hadn't truly seen her before, she was very recognizable. What's more, in Lin Mo's eyes, the energy level on her body was much stronger than ordinary people's, which was why he guessed this was Maeve.
Since she was also here, it looked like today's test wasn't just targeting them newcomers.
But rather aimed at all grades of the Crimefighting College.
"Who are you looking at?"
Joanna's voice suddenly rang out from beside him.
Chapter 62: After all, this is her good teammate!
Lin Mo: "..."
He didn't even turn his head.
"Someone I saw yesterday."
Joanna followed his line of sight and locked onto Maeve almost immediately.
Her gaze changed slightly as well, carrying a distinctly more scrutinizing look.
Lin Mo wasn't surprised by this; Joanna might not be very sensitive about other things, but whenever it concerned him, her radar was always overly sensitive.
Still, in the original work, Homelander had a thing with Maeve. Right now, it should be... No, Maeve seemed to be bisexual, he suddenly realized.
Giving Joanna another casual glance without leaving a trace, things were getting a bit interesting now. He wondered what Joanna's thoughts would be when that time came.
Right at that moment.
A boy nearby noticed Lin Mo's gaze and looked over as well, striking up a conversation with a smile.
"You guys just transferred here, so you probably don't know yet, right?"
"That's Maeve."
"Second year."
As he spoke, his tone clearly carried a bit of envy.
"She's already quite famous now."
"Her ability test scores were very high last year, and her performance in practical classes was also great. I heard that someone on Vought's side has already started paying attention to her."
"Her school ranking has been rising extremely fast lately."
Lin Mo nodded in agreement.
Sure enough, without any surprise, Maeve at this period had already begun to stand out.
She hadn't yet become the household name and member of The Seven that she would be in the future.
But she had clearly entered Vought's field of vision.
This was also normal. With Maeve's ability, placed in a place like Godolkin University, it was impossible for her to remain obscure forever, let alone with her correct skin color.
And just while Lin Mo was observing Maeve,
on the other side, Maeve seemed to have sensed something and turned her head.
Her gaze cut through the crowd and locked right onto Lin Mo. The two exchanged a glance across dozens of meters.
Maeve frowned slightly; that feeling from yesterday was back again.
Dangerous, but very faint.
Yet she instinctively felt that this newcomer had a problem, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.
Yet, strangely enough, Lin Mo looked completely unaggressive from the outside.
He even nodded slightly at her, as a form of greeting.
Maeve hesitated for a moment, nodded back as well, and then looked away.
Joanna: "..."
Lin Mo turned his head.
Sure enough, he saw her staring at him expressionlessly.
"What's wrong?"
"You just nodded at her."
"Mhm."
"Why?"
"Because she was looking at me, so I had to look back."
Joanna thought about it, and it did seem quite reasonable since the two of them were newcomers after all.
That was close. It seemed he would have to rein it in a bit more in the future. Joanna was still a bit overly cautious. He wasn't worried about himself, but rather that Maeve might get beaten to death early by Joanna because of him.
However, Joanna still gave Maeve another serious look and silently memorized this person. Seeing this, Lin Mo couldn't be bothered to continue explaining. Anyway, with more contact in the future, she would get used to it. After all, this was her good teammate, oh.
He just wondered if Maeve would backstab this time around.
Probably, right at that moment.
The broadcast in the center of the testing ground suddenly rang out.
"Attention all students, the ability evaluation will officially begin in five minutes. Please enter the corresponding test areas in order according to the list."
"This score will be simultaneously updated to the student ability archives and used as an important reference for the next phase of campus rankings."
The crowd instantly quieted down quite a bit.
A-Train was already starting to warm up his shoulders, and The Deep also had a serious look on his face.
Maeve remained standing in place with a calm expression.
Looking at the students around him who were clearly starting to get nervous, Lin Mo actually grew curious: with an ability like The Deep's, how was he supposed to showcase it when his turn came?
Put on a performance with his marine life best buddies?
Afterwards, he looked down at the test serial number he had just received.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
Ability testing—now that was interesting. After all, ever since eighteen years ago, Vought had been testing his abilities all along.
Only previously, every single time, he was finding ways to hide it.
But this time...
Lin Mo raised his head and looked at the cameras with Vought logos in the distance.
His eyes flickered slightly; he had to think about how much he should reveal today.
Soon.
The testing for the first batch of students officially began.
Lin Mo could also be considered to have truly witnessed the gold content of Godolkin University for the first time.
I have to admit, those who could be sent into the Crimefighting College were indeed no ordinary characters.
A seemingly thin and frail boy had the ability to control metal. During the test, a full dozen steel plates levitated simultaneously, twisting into dough twists in mid-air—he basically belonged to the low-budget version of Magneto.
Another girl could release high-temperature flames from her palms. The fire-retardant test board in front of her only lasted for a dozen seconds before being burned glowing red.
There was also a guy whose ability was even simpler and more brute-force: body hardening.
With a single punch down, the dynamometer's numbers jumped directly to over a dozen tons.
Cheers suddenly erupted all around.
Joanna was standing next to Lin Mo, her eyes noticeably brighter. She had seen quite a few superhumans in the underground base before.
But most of the time, those people were just test subjects locked up in different laboratories. Even if they occasionally crossed paths, there was basically no communication.
Let alone like this right now.
Dozens of superhumans gathered together, showcasing their abilities one after another.
For her, it was indeed quite fresh.
"Why can that person harden?"
"Ability."
"What about that one?"
"Discharging electricity."
"Why can she turn her hair into snakes?"
Lin Mo fell silent for a moment. Was she cosplaying Medusa? Did she happen to have petrification powers?
"I don't know about this one either."
Joanna looked at it seriously for two seconds and finally gave her evaluation.
"A bit ugly."
Lin Mo almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
This was also an important custom of Godolkin University, which was related to rankings.
It wasn't simply a matter of whoever had the biggest fist ranked first; ability strength was only one very important item among them.
Aside from that, practical combat scores, course performance, public support, media exposure, commercial value, and even Vought's internal evaluation of the students' future potential would all affect the final ranking.
To put it bluntly.
This thing looked like a student leaderboard on the surface, but in reality, it was more like a comprehensive valuation sheet made by Vought for these future commodities.
Being able to fight was certainly important, but if you were ugly, didn't know how to speak, and lacked audience appeal, you could still be suppressed at the bottom. Meanwhile, someone slightly weaker in strength but very suitable for packaging would instead have the opportunity to rank higher.
Lin Mo wasn't surprised by this at all.
Very Vought.
Extremely Vought.
...
"Next."
"Kevin Moskowitz."
Hearing the name, Lin Mo instantly perked up.
Here came the one he was most curious about.
The Deep.
People around were shouting. It seemed his reputation was still... okay? Didn't they say before that The Deep was bullied at school? This didn't seem right.
Lin Mo was rarely puzzled, but his attention was quickly drawn to the area below.
Hearing his name being called, Kevin clearly enjoyed the gaze of the people around him.
He even deliberately tidied his clothes and struck a pose before walking into the test area.
The first item was still considered normal.
Strength.
As a superhuman who had been injected with Compound V and a member of The Seven designated by Vought, his physical fitness was naturally extraordinary.
With a single punch down, the dynamometer screen suddenly flickered, jumping to a strength value of four tons.
The score wasn't top-tier, but it definitely wasn't bad either; his endurance and impact resistance also surpassed most students.
Then, coming to the special ability test, several staff members pushed up a huge water tank.
Lin Mo: "...?"
He suddenly had a bad premonition.
Chapter 63: I'm Much Stronger Than Her!
Sure enough, the next second, a dolphin swam out of the water tank.
The Deep's previously normal expression instantly turned serious, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upward, making him look quite happy.
He walked over to the water tank, man and dolphin gazing quietly at each other.
Watching this scene, Lin Mo also fell into deep thought.
So, are they about to communicate?
Soon, The Deep turned his head and said to the staff member, "She says the water temperature here is two degrees too low."
The staff member looked down at the instrument.
"..."
"Indeed."
Many students around immediately wore surprised expressions, but more than a few almost laughed out loud.
The corners of Lin Mo's mouth couldn't help twitching a few times; he really was performing a program with good marine life partners.
What came next was even more absurd. The staff placed several differently colored marker balls on the other side of the water tank, and through communication with the dolphin, The Deep had it retrieve the designated targets one by one.
The success rate was as high as one hundred percent!
A round of applause actually broke out around them.
Joanna stared at it for quite a while before finally turning to look at Lin Mo.
"His power is just talking to fish?"
"Marine life."
Lin Mo corrected her. He had to admit that this ability of his had high commercial value. For Vought, it allowed them to fly the banner of the oceans and include The Deep as a member of The Seven, which aligned with political correctness.
Therefore, even though the original The Deep was ranked sixth, he still successfully entered The Seven.
"What's the difference?" Joanna asked with a puzzled face. What use was this compared to animal communication abilities?
"A wider range."
"Oh."
Joanna thought about it.
"Still useless."
Not far away, The Deep, who had just stepped off the testing platform, visibly paused his steps.
It seemed he had heard.
Lin Mo forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth.
Fortunately, The Deep had a decent psychological constitution, at least outwardly pretending that nothing had happened, though his enthusiasm from just moments ago to get acquainted with Joanna had noticeably diminished.
...
"Next."
"Reggie Franklin."
This time, the reaction of the surrounding students was noticeably different.
Many people proactively approached the speed testing area, wanting to see this person's strength. It seemed that A-Train was already quite well-known even as a newcomer.
A-Train stood at the starting line of the track, his previously casual expression instantly turning serious.
His main testing event was very simple.
Speed.
Without any bells and whistles, it was a specially reinforced straight track stretching from one end of the playground to the other.
High-speed camera equipment was deployed all along the route.
"Get ready."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
Bang!
Almost the exact moment the voice fell.
A-Train vanished, a gust of wind suddenly whipping up from the ground. The figure that had been standing at the starting line was now hundreds of meters away, and ordinary superpower students could only see a blurry afterimage.
Gasps instantly erupted all around.
"He's even faster!"
"A lot faster than last time."
"No wonder his ranking has been climbing lately."
Lin Mo glanced at the timer; it reached nearly Mach 1.5.
It was indeed not bad. At least at this age stage, A-Trainwas already beginning to show the potential expected of a future member of The Seven.
However, his top speed definitely wasn't limited to this. In the original work, he rescued Huey right under Homelander's laser eyes, and that speed must have exceeded Mach 10 at least. That should have been a burst of power that couldn't be sustained for long; otherwise, he wouldn't have ultimately failed to shake off Homelander.
Furthermore, speed-type powers were naturally suited for public display—intuitive enough, shocking enough.
More importantly, when the time came, in order to win the support of the Black community, Vought would push him into becoming a member of The Seven—another instance of Vought's political correctness.
After A-Train came back, his face clearly carried a hint of smugness, and his gaze subconsciously glanced over toward Lin Mo's side.
Yesterday, during their first meeting, he had sensed an inexplicable danger emanating from Lin Mo.
But at least now, he had showcased his abilities.
Although he didn't know just how strong the other party truly was, this sense of the unknown bothered him somewhat.
...
A few more people passed.
"Margaret Shaw."
As soon as the broadcast read out this name, the surroundings noticeably quieted down.
Lin Mo also raised his head. Unlike A-Train, Maeve's abilities weren't all that flashy.
One could even say they were very traditional—strength, speed, durability, reflexes, almost entirely physical enhancement types, and every single category was very strong.
For the first strength test, Maeve walked up to the instrument specially designed for testing high-level superpowered individuals.
She didn't charge up for long.
One punch.
Boom!
A muffled impact sound instantly spread across the entire testing grounds, and the fixed steel frame behind the instrument visibly shook.
The numbers jumped all the way up, finally stopping at a value far exceeding the vast majority of previous students.
Thirteen tons!
Gasps immediately erupted all around.
"It went up again! So strong!"
"She didn't seem to be this high last year, right?"
"No wonder Vought has been feeding her resources lately."
Someone even shouted out: "I love you!"
The Deep's gaze carried some envy; how wonderful it would be if he possessed such formidable strength.
Maeve herself didn't react much, as if this result had been expected all along.
The subsequent impact-resistance test was the same; ordinary students needed to increase the impact intensity step by step.
Yet she directly skipped the previous tiers, the high-speed impact device slamming heavily against her body.
Bang!
Maeve only took a step back, while the ground beneath her feet cracked instead.
Finally came jumping and comprehensive actual combat, likewise showing no obvious shortcomings.
Lin Mo looked at her test results and nodded slightly. No wonder she could later become one of the most core members of The Seven.
Although Maeve at this period clearly hadn't grown to her peak yet, she was already starting to pull away from ordinary superhumans.
Moreover, afterwards, Maeve was even able to injure Homelander, which was sufficient proof of her strength.
"I'm much stronger than her!" Joanna chimed in out of nowhere, clearly having noticed that she had been paying attention to Maeve just now, and also seeing him nod slightly in approval toward Maeve.
Seeing Joanna's somewhat dissatisfied attitude, Lin Mohurriedly withdrew his gaze and began to praise her. "That's right, that's right. Later on, Joanna, show them your power."
At this, although Joanna didn't express it directly, he observed the corners of her mouth twitching upward slightly.
On the other side, after finishing her test, Maeve did not leave immediately.
Instead, she returned to the sidelines, her gaze falling intermittently upon Lin Mo and Joanna.
Her staying behind was clearly out of a desire to see.
What kind of tricks these two transfer students, whom Vought treated so specially, actually possessed.
Joanna immediately noticed her. It was this woman who had made her Lin Mo stare for quite a while just now. Looking at her now, there was nothing special about her—not even one ten-thousandth as good as herself.
The two women exchanged a glance across the crowd.
While Maeve's expression remained calm, Joannanarrowed her eyes slightly.
The other party staying behind now was nothing more than wanting to see her.
Want to see?
Then let her see.
...
Because Lin Mo and Joanna were temporary transfer students, their names were naturally placed right at the end.
As the preceding students finished their tests one by one.
Instead, fewer and fewer people prepared to leave the field.
Clearly, everyone was waiting. After all, there weren't that many people at Crimefighting College to begin with—at most just several hundred—and basically everyone looked familiar to each other.
Finally.
The broadcast sounded again.
"Joanna."
Joanna's eyes lit up as she turned to look at Lin Mo.
"It's my turn."
"Mhm."
Lin Mo smiled slightly.
"Go ahead."
With just those words, the corners of Joanna's mouth immediately curved up, and as she walked into the testing area.
Lin Mo inexplicably saw a kind of... in her back view.
feeling of wanting to show off.
What was it a bit like? A little child participating in a competition for the first time, clearly not caring about the prize at all, yet caring deeply whether someone in the audience was watching them.
Chapter 64: "You're not going to make me pay for this, right?"
Thinking of this, Lin Mo's expression became a bit odd, but he quickly relaxed.
Soon, Joanna came to the strength testing machine.
The staff member looked at the data, then at her, and was just about to brief her on the rules.
"For the first test, it is recommended to start from—"
"No need."
Joanna interrupted directly.
Then she turned back, gave Lin Mo a serious look, and only turned away after confirming his attention was on her.
Lin Mo: "..."
She really was putting on a show for him.
The next second.
Joanna raised her hand with a relaxed expression, looking completely as if she hadn't controlled her strength well. Everyone present felt as though she wasn't paying attention to her exertion, just casually waving her hand.
With a single punch.
Boom——!
The loud noise even made the entire testing arena vibrate violently.
The previously noisy surroundings instantly quieted down.
Everyone stared in dumbfounded silence as the numbers on the dynamometer jumped crazily.
Ten tons.
Thirty tons.
Fifty tons.
It was still rising.
Even the staff member responsible for recording the data had their expression freeze bit by bit.
Finally, the value surpassed the highest existing student record.
Then it continued upward until the instrument emitted a harsh alarm, and a red prompt popped up directly on the screen.
——Exceeded the recommended testing range.
"..."
The entire audience was dead silent.
A-Train slowly lowered his crossed arms, and The Deep's mouth opened slightly.
The calmness on Maeve's face finally vanished as she stared at Joanna.
For the first time, she showed a truly serious and solemn expression.
However, this wasn't the end; next was speed.
Impact resistance, and reaction ability.
In the end, Joanna easily broke almost all of the school's existing records.
Even the people in charge of testing became somewhat numb to it.
The field had remained silent, but the dead silence was first torn apart by a suppressed cheer.
First came a few scattered exclamations, which then spread like a tide. The students present could no longer hold back, and cheers erupted one after another, booming across the field.
Many people raised their arms high, their burning gazes falling on the young girl in the center of the arena. Shouts and cheers rose wave after wave, and the entire testing venue was filled with boiling commotion.
Yet Joanna herself didn't look at those numbers or the cheers of the crowd at all.
Every time she finished an event, her first reaction was to look for Lin Mo, until she found that Lin Mo had been watching her all along.
The smile on her face grew more and more obvious. The gazes of everyone in the crowd fell upon her.
There was surprise, shock, envy, and even a hint of fear.
But Joanna didn't care at all.
She walked down from the testing area, and her very first action was to walk straight up to Lin Mo.
"How was it?"
That tone—
it was practically screaming praise me on her face.
Seeing this, Lin Mo smiled and then offered generous praise without hesitation.
"Impressive, as expected of my Joanna."
With just this single sentence.
Joanna immediately broke into an incomparably brilliant smile, even more satisfied than when she broke so many records just now.
Not far away.
Maeve took in this entire scene, her expression growing increasingly odd.
She suddenly understood a bit: this woman named Joanna...
didn't seem to care about school rankings at all, nor did she care what others thought of her. From beginning to end, the only thing she truly cared about was that mysterious man.
...
"Last one."
"Lin Mo."
At this moment.
The testing arena, which had still held some murmurs of discussion,
fell silent once again.
If just now everyone was simply curious about the two transfer students,
then now, after Joanna had practically swept through the school's records,
everyone began to genuinely wonder: Lin Mo, who had appeared alongside her and even made Vought staff treat him with equal caution,
what level was he at? Would he be the same as Joanna?
A-Train stared at Lin Mo, and Maeve didn't look away either.
Even The Deep subconsciously stood up so he could see the situation on the field more clearly.
Feeling the gazes of hundreds of students gathered on him, Lin Mo remained very calm.
It was just a small matter; to him, it was merely going through the motions.
Soon, he walked to the testing area and glanced at the machine that Joanna had almost broken earlier.
The staff member visibly hesitated for a moment.
"Should we switch to another one?"
"No need."
Lin Mo slightly loosened his wrists, making sure not to use too much power later and hurt the spectators outside the field.
"It can still be used for one last time now."
After saying that,
he raised his fist. Without charging up, he looked like he was just casually throwing a punch forward.
Boom!!!
If Joanna's punch earlier had made the entire testing arena vibrate slightly,
then the moment this punch landed,
those standing close by even had the illusion that the air was violently compressed and exploded.
A massive impact echoed out. The values on the instrument instantly skipped all preceding ranges.
But instead of rising bit by bit like Joanna's had,
it directly maxed out.
Beep——!!!
A harsh alarm resounded across the entire sports ground.
The display screen suddenly went black.
In the blink of an eye, a wisp of grayish-white smoke spewed from inside the dynamometer, followed by a muffled, booming crash. The machine's outer shell cracked open from the inside out, and countless pieces of hot metal splattered in all directions.
The entire dynamometer was blown apart by a single punch.
Lin Mo: "..."
He lowered his gaze and took a look: it seemed he had used a little too much strength.
Then he said to the dazed testing staff member standing nearby,
"You're not going to make me pay for this, right?"
After a long while, the staff member finally snapped back to reality and waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no need, the school will cover the repair costs."
He couldn't afford to joke about this; he felt like a single breath from Lin Mo could send him to the grave, so how dare he ask for compensation? Furthermore, as a Vought employee, he knew a thing or two about Lin Mo's background and wouldn't dare provoke this towering figure.
However, the entire venue remained frighteningly silent, save for the sound of quite a few people breathing.
Standing on the stage, Joanna smiled. At that moment, the expression on her face was even happier than when she had broken the record herself.
She turned her head to look at the shocked expressions of the people around her, as if saying:
"Look."
"This is her Lin Mo."
She didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable just because Lin Mo showed strength no less than her own.
On the contrary, she even felt an undisguised pride.
Because in Joanna's view, Lin Mo being strong was naturally a matter of course.
The subsequent tests didn't hold any suspense either.
Even speed was the same.
Lin Mo deliberately held back, yet he still easily surpassed the record A-Train had just set.
When the numbers on the timer popped up, the expression on A-Train's face changed completely.
He lowered his head to glance at his own score, then looked back up at Lin Mo.
Silence, speechless.
The thing he had always been proud of, something that could even be said to determine his future value,
in front of this newly transferred guy, seemed like nothing more than a number that could be casually surpassed with a wave of the hand.
That feeling was terrible; it made him want to cry...
As for the impact resistance test,
Lin Mo didn't even take a step back, letting the high-intensity impact fall upon him. His clothes barely even fluttered, thanks to his Bio-field.
By now, the staff member no longer knew what to record, nor could he report back on what Vought had instructed—he was completely out of options.
Maeve, watching from the sidelines, had remained silent the entire time, but the expression on her face had completely changed. Yesterday, when she first saw Lin Mo, she had only instinctively felt danger.
Today, she finally knew where that sense of danger came from.
This person was strong—ridiculously strong. More importantly, Maeve always had a feeling:
He hadn't even gotten serious yet, just like Joanna earlier. This feeling was what bothered her the most.
But at the same time, a sense of relief welled up in her heart. With strength that long surpassed her own, Lin Moentering The Seven was a certainty. More innocent lives would be saved because of him, and she was more than happy to see such an outcome.
Chapter 65: It's Probably an Issue with Sexual Orientation
Meanwhile.
The Deep's mood was even more complicated. He first looked at Joanna, and then looked at Lin Mo.
Then he suddenly remembered that he had planned to take the initiative to get to know Joanna this morning.
"..."
The Deep fell silent.
He began to seriously consider a question: was he a bit too brave just now?
It would be fine if the relationship between these two people was just that of ordinary friends.
But the problem was the expression with which Joannalooked back at Lin Mo, and when Lin Mo took the stage, she was even happier than when she herself went up.
No matter how one looked at it, this didn't look like an ordinary relationship.
The Deep swallowed hard, a very realistic question suddenly popping up in his mind.
This person in the future...
Wouldn't bully him because of those two sentences this morning, right?
He glanced again at the completely ruined strength tester and silently moved half a step closer to A-Train.
A-Train gave him a strange look.
"What are you doing?"
"It's nothing."
The Deep's expression was serious.
"I suddenly feel that during college, we should focus our main energy on our studies."
A-Train: "?"
No bro, don't mess with me, I'm scared. A-Train silently shifted his butt to the side again. He had seen this kind of situation with The Deep a lot; it was mostly likely an issue with sexual orientation, and he needed to protect himself well.
And at this moment.
Lin Mo naturally didn't know that The Deep had already begun to reflect on his college life.
Standing in the center of the testing ground, looking at the gazes around him that were completely different from just now.
There was a hint of surprise and shock, but more than that, apprehension.
And... awe?
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly. They were just a bunch of bullies who feared the strong and oppressed the weak. If he hadn't performed so exaggeratedly now, Lin Mobelieved that tomorrow's campus forum would have extra...
"Shocking! Why did the newly-minted campus goddess Joanna fall in love with an Asian sick man!"
And a series of other things, and then they could legitimately attack him on the internet. He hated such people the most, and he was afraid he couldn't help but go on a killing spree. First, to prevent such a thing from happening, it was better to show a little bit of his methods.
Of course, he still didn't use his full strength today, nor was there any need to. If he really used it, this testing ground would probably have to be replaced with a new one again.
Besides, didn't Vought want to give him exposure? And didn't they want his physical data? Then he might as well let them take a look.
Besides, he had to push his campus ranking up slowly. At the very least, he had to let the people here know one thing.
He, Lin Mo, did not obtain his campus ranking through Vought's special treatment.
On the contrary, it was because he was qualified that Vought had no choice but to give it.
Thinking of this.
Lin Mo ignored the surrounding gazes and turned to walk towards Joanna.
Joanna had been waiting for him for a long time. Seeing Lin Mo come back, the smile on her face was obviously happier than when she broke the record just now.
"Is it over?"
"Pretty much."
Lin Mo said casually.
Joanna looked him up and down, confirming that there wasn't even any dust on his body.
Only then did she nod with satisfaction, although she knew that this level of testing could not possibly hurt Lin Mo.
But this kind of habit obviously couldn't be changed in a day or two.
Soon, the staff in the center of the testing ground finally finished organizing the final data.
The broadcast sounded accordingly.
"This ability assessment is concluded. The test results will be synchronized to personal student files after the review is completed, and ranking adjustments will be completed within twenty-four hours."
"All students return to their original course classrooms."
As the words fell.
The crowd that had originally gathered around the testing ground then slowly began to disperse.
However, when many people left, they still couldn't help but look towards Lin Mo and Joanna.
A few even took out their mobile phones.
Obviously, today's matter could not just end like this.
Lin Mo didn't care about this. Anyway, Vought was already prepared to create momentum for them. Instead of spending money to buy those obviously fake media articles, it was better to let these students spread it themselves, which would have higher credibility.
The two were just about to leave when footsteps suddenly came from behind.
"Hi! Lin Mo."
Lin Mo turned back, somewhat surprised.
It was A-Train and The Deep who chased after them.
However, the states of the two were obviously a bit different.
A-Train was all smiles. Although his speed score was directly surpassed by Lin Mo just now, which made him feel somewhat complicated inside.
But this complexity did not prevent him from taking the initiative to come over and get to know Lin Mo.
After all, this was Godolkin University. There were not many students who could make it into Crimefighting College who were truly fools.
You can envy someone who is similar to you, but when the other party is clearly strong to another level.
The smartest approach is often not to make enemies, but to get to know each other.
As for The Deep...
Kevin was obviously not as active as yesterday. He even deliberately stood on the other side of A-Train, and his eyes honestly looked at Lin Mo, without glancing at Joanna's side at all.
Lin Mo glanced at him, feeling somewhat amused inside. It seemed that the previous round of testing was quite educational.
"Bro, that punch just now was really exaggerated."
A-Train spoke first.
"I thought Miss Joanna breaking all the records was already outrageous enough."
"Turns out you're even more ruthless."
Saying this, he glanced at the testing equipment in the distance that was being inspected by the staff.
"I remember that thing is quite expensive."
Lin Mo also glanced at it and said indifferently,
"Vought wouldn't dare make me pay for it."
A-Train was stunned for a moment. Thinking of the strength of Lin Mo and Joanna, he then smiled with relief. The strong have a voice everywhere, and even Vought wouldn't dare to easily offend them.
"If the school dares to make you pay, I'd really like to see how they plan to bring it up."
Standing on the side, The Deep also managed a forced smile. He only hoped that the conversation content wouldn't suddenly turn to this morning, especially not to the matter of him taking the initiative to strike up a conversation with Joanna.
But fortunately, Lin Mo clearly had no interest in arguing with him.
Several people walked along the road towards the direction of the teaching building together.
A-Train was obviously a person who knew how to handle social situations well.
Soon he continued: "However, the two of you are completely famous today."
Lin Mo raised his brows slightly.
"So fast?"
"You don't really think the people in the testing ground were just watching?"
A-Train took out his mobile phone and shook it, then pointed around at the glances being cast over from time to time.
"At least half of the people were posting messages on the forum just now."
"I guess the campus forum has already blown up. One transfer student refreshed the school records, and the other was even more direct, breaking the testing equipment."
"This kind of thing has never happened before."
Lin Mo and Joanna really hadn't logged into the so-called campus forum.
Arriving at school yesterday and coming straight to class early this morning, he had only glanced simply at the student system, let alone this kind of internal social platform of the school.
"Is the forum important?"
Lin Mo asked.
"Quite important."
A-Train shrugged and sighed, but as if thinking of something again, he spoke once more.
"At least it's quite important for the rankings."
"You should also know that school rankings don't just look at ability. Public support, discussion level, popularity, and even whether others are willing to vote for you are all counted."
"You two pulling this stunt today..."