Back to the Peak Chapter 11 Never forgets anything

Shi Qingyang met no trouble resigning from the Tao Rubao’s shop. After all, he used to be only a tank washes part-time worker. Tao Rubao was busy running around even without him, and it won’t be difficult to find a replacement.

Naturally, Tao Rubao tried his hardest to retain him at first because of his diligent work, but after learning that he quit because he was going to study at Spark Academy, he promptly accepted and gave him an additional 800 credits as a bonus. In the future, he will favor this tank wash.

Shi Qingyang responded with a smile, but he was still melancholic when he left.

He spent the night organizing his belongings. After he had finished his part-time job at a butcher shop the next morning, he transferred all of his things to Cheng Ran's house, intending to start living together.

Cheng Ran's villa was not particularly large with only three floors. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were all on the first floor. The master bedroom, the second bedroom, and a short corridor were on the second floor. On the third floor, there was a single bedroom and a very large exercise room.

Shi Qingyang was given the third floor, while Cheng Ran and Gu Changjin stayed on the second. He slept in the loft above the master bedroom. Like the master bedroom, it had a wide balcony. Despite the fact that it was just a bedroom, it was bigger than his previous residence. Of course, the bedroom was insignificant and instead, the training room came as a nice surprise to him.

Every Rad-Warrior requires a healthy body. With a good body, they can withstand more rad-power. As a result, in addition to practicing rad-power, they must also exercise their bodies.

Shi Qingyang had previously trained without any equipment, relying solely on his meticulously planned routines. He had now set up a slew of machines in the practice room. Despite the fact that they were all just for physical fitness, they were impressive enough to impress the average citizen.

"You are free to use all of these training tools. The young master used to work out often, but it’s a pity…” Gu Changjin was overcome by remorse and didn’t continue.

Of course, Shi Qingyang knew Cheng Ran was just an average person without rad-power, but he shouldn’t know it right now. "What's wrong with Cheng Ran?"

"After administering the rad-medicine, the young master didn’t awaken the radiation energy. Instead, he became gravely ill." Gu Changjin didn’t keep Cheng Ran's affairs hidden, mostly because they would be discovered as soon as they began attending the Academy. “He developed an intense aversion to radiant energy. This rejection nearly killed him.”

"Why then attend Spark Academy?" Shi Qingyang was truthfully curious.

Radiation was now present everywhere, including in cities. As a result, it was beneficial to be injected with rad-medicine. Although some individuals won’t awaken rad-power, they also won’t have negative reactions.

"Going there is not the young master's choice. You don't need to know the details as long as you can look after the young master at school." Gu Changjin answered.

"Can he learn something else if doesn’t have rad-power?" Shi Qingyang inquired.

In reality, he believed that Cheng Ran didn’t need to attend Rad-Warrior school. Right now he was just sixteen years old. He could still learn new things, such as machinery, scientific research, networking… haven’t plenty of ordinary people been pioneers in these fields?

"Of course, he can study other things, but he needs to attend Spark Academy." Gu Changjin let out a sigh: "You must arrange your belongings. Once you are done, come down for dinner. "

‘Will Cheng Ran inherit Cheng clan? Why a Rad-Warrior?’ Shi Qingyang put his belongings away and went downstairs, where he saw Gu Changjin had already set up a table with food.

Literally a table with food. Gu Changjin served two plates of roasted meat with diced leafy greens, as well as many plates and a small bowl with mashed veggies.

He and Gu Changjin ate the barbecue while the majority of what Cheng Ran had was made up of vegetables, with the only meat dish being a small piece of steamed insect egg.

As Shi Qingyang noticed his food, Cheng Ran's face flushed: "I... don't like to eat..., I, I like to eat vegetables."

"Do you dislike meat? I apologize for not knowing yesterday." Shi Qingyang guessed what he wanted to say. Cheng Ran wasn’t supposed to eat meat and yet he ate a lot yesterday…

"I didn't... I like meat, I just like vegetables more..." Cheng Ran spoke quickly, lest Shi Qingyang would misunderstand.

"Ah, I see." Shi Qingyang comforted Cheng Ran with a smile.

He made food Cheng Ran didn't like, which was Shi Qingyang's fault, and still Cheng Ran behaved as the one who was wrong in this situation.

No wonder he was bullied.

After dinner, it was still early. Gu Changjin loaded the tableware into the dishwasher and began cleaning with the dust collector, while Cheng Ran kept a close eye on Shi Qingyang at all times. The boy wanted to speak, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Shi Qingyang knew Cheng Ran was terrified of life and decided to take the initiative.

"Cheng Ran, what do you usually do after eating?"

“Me?” Cheng Ran took a breath before speaking. "I'm reading." [TN: The moment when you absentmindedly write down “I'm translating” and only later editing notice. I know I am a bit Dyslexic but this word isn’t even close to the right one XD Maybe I shouldn’t translate after midnight?]

“Let’s go upstairs? As I work out, you read?” Shi Qingyang proposed.

Cheng Ran grinned and revealed two dimples, making his thin face seem rounder. He nodded enthusiastically while laughing: "Okay."

Shi Qingyang began working on the fitness machines, while Cheng Ran sat with a tablet.

The physical paper books were long gone. People now read books on tablets. It was a small computer that could hold a vast number of files and record a variety of things. It cannot, however, link to the Internet. The tablet was only capable to be connected to a computer or a personal terminal. For no other reason but to preserve privacy—the new network was insecure.

Shi Qingyang was dripping wet from the equipment. Cheng Ran observed him as he was training. At first, he read the book for a bit, then secretly glanced at him, but later, Cheng Ran's was drowned in the book. On the other hand, when Shi Qingyang got used to the pace of the exercise, he would sometimes glance at Cheng Ran.

Except for the boy, he had nothing else to look at right now.

Cheng Ran was serious when he was reading, and his posture was serious as well, only once when he scrolled forward, his brows wrinkled.

Shi Qingyang trained for an hour before he stepped away from the equipment, took a deep breath, and inquired, "What's wrong?"

"What's written here was different from what I've seen before." Cheng Ran frowned momentarily before noticed Shi Qingyang's situation and grabbed a bottle of water from the side, steadily ordering: "You must drink slowly, and you must slow down."

Shi Qing Yang was sweating profusely, and he was about to finish the bottle in one breath when he heard Cheng Ran order him to drink slowly.

With an improved mood, Shi Qingyang drank water at a rare slow pace – there were just too few people who cared about him in this way.

"Do you like reading a lot?" Shi Qingyang questioned, his gaze drawn to the tablet in Cheng Ran's lap.

"I like it," Cheng Ran nodded enthusiastically, but his smile soon faded, "I have nothing to do but read."

"What part of books do you enjoy? Have you thought about what you intend to do in the future?" Shi Qing Yang inquired once more, hoping Cheng Ran would find something; otherwise, it would be too dull.

In his former life, Cheng Ran could only do theory studies at Spark Academy.

"I've read all the books, and am at a loss for what to do next..." Cheng Ran was blank-faced: "My parents anticipated that I would become a powerful Rad-Warrior, but my body rejected rad-medicine... The fact that there was no way to absorb radioactive energy was the most important. I really can’t…"

"Only one-third of the world's population becomes Rad-Warriors. Even if you are not one, there are many ways to work in the industry while wearing a radiation safety suit. Wasn't it true that the founder of the Australian City Company was an ordinary citizen, as well as all of the researchers there?"

"Actually, I'd like to work in medicine… a pharmacist!" Cheng Ran said abruptly, slowed down again feeling a little unclear about what he just said. "Although Mom and Dad have always said that I can be a powerful Rad-Warrior, but I have always wanted to be a pharmacist. But a pharmacist has to be exposed to many medicinal materials that have radiation. You need to be a Rad-Warrior to…”

"Pharmacist?” Shi Qingyang had to admit that this was indeed a good career. Those Rad-Warriors who want to grow stronger, those who have been harmed by rad-power, require drugs. But a successful pharmacist must be able to perceive radiation energy. When many medical materials were combined, the radiation in them needs to be suppressed and removed.

Certain basic materials can be processed by machines. Simple formulas may even be configured with the aid of machines, therefore people operating them don’t need to be Rad-Warriors. Some potions were even mass-produced like this. But intermediate potions, advanced potions, and complex potions cannot be processed by machines. In addition, pharmacists need to configure them on their own. In the process of configuration, they often need to use their own rad-power to adjust the properties of certain medical ingredients to prevent accidents.

As a result, intermediate and senior pharmacists were in general Rad-Warriors. Ni Feng, one of China's most successful pharmacists, was now a sixth-level Rad-Warrior. He also uses his identity as a pharmacist to wed Fan Jia, a beautiful female god of war in China.

Fan Jia was one of Hua Guo's two ninth-level Rad-Warriors, and the only female ninth-level Rad-Warriors in Chinese history. Her pharmacist husband was instrumental in her effort to get to this stage.

"It makes no difference if one has rad-power or not. Machines can process the materials used in primary medicines. Even some medical ingredients in intermediate portions can be processed by machines. You could become an intermediate pharmacist if you are willing. You see, even though I may never break through the third level in my life, I’ll continue to work hard!" Shi Qingyang reassured, that anything was possible and that even if it wasn't, there was no harm in learning more.

Cheng Ran was just sixteen years old, and he still had decades to live!

"You...you are right." Cheng Ran's eyes lit up, clearly excited.

"However, if you wish to be a pharmacist, you must understand mutant insects and plants, as well as their roles. This requires a significant amount of commitment." Shi Qingyang continued.

In his former life, he had killed dozens of weird beasts. And even if he had killed them, he had no idea what they were and what use they had.

Cheng Ran's joy became greater with each passing moment. He was recognized by Shi Qingyang and his words were more frequent. "I am familiar with all of the known mutant beasts and plants. I'm certain because I've read both "The Encyclopedia of Mutant Beasts" and "Encyclopedia of Mutant Plants".”

Cheng Ranti's mentioned Encyclopedias were two collections of books published by the state, with new content added each year. There was one book for every 500,000 words, split into over a hundred volumes and countless illustrations. Shi Qingyang had already read these two collections of books, but he only used search tools to scan the contents:

"You ought to write down a summary."

"I've already written it all!" Cheng Ran said solemnly.

"Did you take notes?" Shi Qingyang was astounded and inquired.

"Well, I read it and took notes." Cheng Ran admitted, a little ashamed. "As long as I've seen it, I can recall it."

Shi Qingyang shifted his mouth, a little speechless. Although rad-power had the potential to make humans extremely powerful, it only applied to the body and not the brain. To recall everything you see? What kind of ability was it?

It's no surprise that Cheng Ran, who was once considered to be a tasteless theory geek, consistently receives first place!

"But I can only write down what I know. Numerical calculations and other tasks are completely out of the question." Cheng Ran said once more, slumped. "If it wasn't like this, I would be able to do scientific research. If that's the case, my parents wouldn’t be… so angry.”

‘Is that all?’ He couldn’t even write down the table of content for those two collections of books!

Shi Qingyang witnessed Cheng Ran's naive expression and felt as if he had been kicked and injured in the chest by a trail bull.

He wanted to vomit blood.

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