Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Beyond the comic strip on the first page, the book was filled with many other illustrations, all conveying much the same message.

There were three identical copies of the book. After giving them a thorough "beating," Su Ximu, with a look of utter disdain, piled them in the room's most inconspicuous corner.

That night, nestled in the hidden sleeping spot he had chosen, the little one couldn't resist whispering his theories and analyses about the place to his brothers.

"Brothers, I saw a school when we got out of the vehicle."

Why did he think it was a school? Because through the window, he could see many people reading, and a teacher at the front, book in hand, instructing them.

"But... but I think this school is a bad school." Having attended kindergarten before arriving in this world, the little one felt a pang of guilt bad-mouthing a school.

Perhaps the idea of "studying hard" was deeply ingrained in the heart of every child from Aqua Blue Star.

Even a kindergarten student was no exception.

Soon, however, he reasoned it out. He was talking about *this* school being bad, not all schools.

And he had his reasons.

"I saw it—when I got out of the vehicle, I secretly peeked inside the school. The teacher in the classroom with the open window was holding a textbook, and it was *this very textbook*."

He might not be able to read, but recognizing a cover didn't require literacy.

At this point, the little one concluded gravely, "Brothers, bad schools give you bad books to read, and bad teachers make students go fight. Sigh, there are so many bad people in this world."

"My old kindergarten was really good. The teacher taught us games and never let us fight. Everyone was friends~"

Su Ximu imagined his brothers might soon have to become students at this school, just like everyone else here.

He had no other demands of his brothers—he just hoped they wouldn't study hard.

But the teachers here were so strict. If his brothers didn't study hard, would they get hit?

Thinking this, the little one could only compromise, adding, "Brothers, I really wish you wouldn't study hard in your hearts, but still get perfect scores on exams."

This request was somewhat complex for his brothers.

Seeing the little one's eyes drooping with sleep but still forcing himself to speak, 242 shifted closer, gently placing one hand over the child's tired eyes while using the other to pat him soothingly to sleep.

Su Ximu, who originally didn't want to sleep, was thus manually lulled to sleep by his brother. The whole process took less than two minutes.

The next morning at 6:30, heavy, booming bell sounds echoed across the entire Education Center.

In the past, this sound had been used at the beginning of each month to notify residents to collect water.

The administrators of the Education Center, too lazy to establish new conditioned reflexes for these residents, simply repurposed the sound as class bells.

The "students" heading to class didn't even need to bring their books—a backup copy was available at the "school."

The reason each student received two identical textbooks was so they could be immersed in the material at all times, no matter where they were.

Su Ximu, also awakened by the bell, did as usual: after his brothers left, he peeked through the door crack to observe outside.

After watching for a while, he cocked his head and unexpectedly spotted another familiar face in the crowd.

It was the grandfather who used to live next door to them.

So the grandfather from next door had also been brought here.

It seemed they had become neighbors again.

***

That day, having just arrived in a new place, Su Ximu was too scared to venture out and explore further. Instead, he occasionally peeked through the door crack, counted his collections when bored, or flipped through the books.

Whenever the little one picked up these books, he looked at them with a critical eye.

Meanwhile, following the sound of the bell, 241 stopped in front of a small white building. The shackles linking him and his brothers had not been removed, making it easy for the teacher in charge of new students to identify them.

After all, within the 104 Education Center, cases like theirs—where three brothers all showed signs of transformation, and all with high transformation rates—were relatively rare. In fact, they were the only such case in the entire 104 Education Center.

In the next few minutes, the new student teacher selected over a dozen top students from the newcomers and began leading them inside the small white building.

Regardless of whether the new students could understand, the teacher went on: "You're lucky. With your high transformation rates, you're considered top students. For now, you don't need to fight in the arena to boost your rates. You just need to follow me and learn to expand your minds."

"Later, I'll take you to the cafeteria. Each of you can receive one cup of water and one serving of nutrient paste per day. This is a privilege not available in the outer zones. Always remember who gave you these privileges. Learn gratitude and devotion."

Behind the teacher, the students remained silent.

The teacher didn't mind. It didn't matter if they didn't understand now—everything he said today would be repeated to them daily from now on.

From one small bucket of water per month to one cup per day now.

Here, they would experience the feeling of a full stomach for the first time.

Wasn't that worth being grateful for?

243, following behind the "teacher," glanced up at the teacher's mechanical hand, then quickly lowered his head. When he looked up again, his eyes had gone from alert to vacant and dull.

Five minutes later, everyone arrived at the cafeteria and, under the "teacher's" direction, lined up to receive water and nutrient paste.

At that moment, everyone—including 241, 242, and 243—fixed their eyes on the cup of water in their hands, but no one made a move to drink it.

Not until the teacher at the front made a fist gesture.

In the habits of all outer zone residents, this meant consent.

Consent to drink, consent to eat, consent to bathe.

243 knew that his second brother hadn't brought any tools today, so they couldn't take the water back for their younger brother.

Since they couldn't give it to him, the three figured they shouldn't save it. Like everyone else, they raised their cups, tilted their heads back, and downed the water in one gulp.

Even after the cups were empty, some still turned them upside down over their mouths, hoping for a few last drops to trickle down.

Others noticed wet spots at the bottom and stuck their tongues out, trying to lick the last bit of dampness.

Only when no more water could be coaxed out did they finally put their cups down and pour the nutrient paste from their trays into their mouths.

The nutrient paste used in the Education Center school clearly had a different formula from the one dispensed through the feeding tubes.

Though the portion seemed smaller than what came from the tubes, this small serving made them feel full in a way they had never experienced before.

For those whose most basic needs had never been met, a full stomach equated to happiness.

After finishing their meal and leaving the cafeteria, the new students' faces remained blank, but 243 could sense that they were sticking closer to the person in front than before.

The reason he noticed this was because, after leaving the cafeteria, he maintained his previous walking pace but gradually found himself falling behind.

It might be... because they got a little ahead of themselves. The methods used in the school now didn't really work on him.

Not only did they not work on him, but 243 even had time to check out the route from the cafeteria to the classroom.

Even though their methods didn't work on him, he still really enjoyed drinking the water.

His approach was all about eating and drinking, even planning to take some if he got the chance, but not giving an ounce of credit.

Just like that, the dozen or so new students were led by the teacher, turning several corners and going up two floors, finally arriving at a fairly small classroom for newcomers.

The teacher assigned each student their seat, guiding them one by one to sit down.

True to form, 241, 242, and 243 were seated together.

With all the new students in their places, the teacher at the front began the lesson.

The content of the first lesson was simple—the three brothers had even previewed it the night before.

It was the four illustrations on the first page of the textbook.

The teacher’s teaching method was simple and crude: projecting each of the four images onto the blackboard and having the students stare at them repeatedly.

At one point, the teacher, too bored to stick around, left the classroom, leaving the students to continue watching.

As the images looped endlessly, several hours passed before they knew it.

At 4 p.m., school let out.

The teacher led the new students back to the school entrance, then pointed ahead, motioning for them to head back by themselves.

Fortunately, after every time they got water, there was always the routine of going home alone, so the students walked slowly on their way back, all remembering the location of their new homes correctly.

Meanwhile, at home, Su Ximu had been critiquing the book in his hands for as long as his brothers had been away.

When his brothers returned, the little guy curiously approached and asked the brother he communicated with most smoothly, "Big Brother, what did you do today?"

Acting with the demeanor of an older brother, 243 ruffled his little brother's hair before beginning to explain using gestures and words.

First, he pretended to hold a cup with one hand, tilted his head back, and made gulping sounds.

That meant drinking water.

Then, he cupped his hands together as if holding something, poured it into his mouth, and finally patted his stomach.

That meant being full.

Su Ximu waited for a while but didn’t see his brother continue gesturing. He blinked and asked, "Then what?"

Then what?

*What "then what"?*

Sensing his brother’s confusion, 243 thought for a moment before remembering. He then shot a sideways glance at the book lying open on the floor, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt.

At this point, 243 was less about having gained humanity and more about standing at the crossroads between humanity and animal nature after acquiring self-awareness.

This made him instinctively scorn the weak, especially those he had defeated—even if that "defeated" was just a book.

243 was openly contemptuous, 242's attitude was hard to read, and 241 accidentally stepped on the book page again while moving around.

Clearly, he also looked down on the defeated.