Lin Mo put away his phone, a trace of coldness flashing through his eyes.
If he hadn't heard it, he could have pretended nothing happened. But since he did, he couldn't just turn a blind eye.
He walked back to the group with his usual expression, as if he had merely sent a normal message.
The science and technology museum was bustling with noise, the air filled with a scent of intertwined tension and excitement.
The participating teams from various schools, dressed in different uniforms or casual clothes, gathered in small groups of three or five, discussing things in low voices. Everyone's face was written with anticipation for the afternoon competition.
At lunchtime, Xu Haoming led the large group aggressively toward the buffet restaurant inside the museum.
The restaurant was already packed. Looking around, it was almost entirely filled with students participating in the competition and their leading teachers.
After all, it was a weekday during the summer vacation; apart from these competing teams, there weren't many ordinary tourists.
After finding seats and sitting down, Xu Haoming clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.
"Listen up, everyone. Rest a bit after eating. The competition starts right at one o'clock. Once it's over, we'll head straight back to school."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Lin Mo and Tong Dong, feeling much more reassured. "Do your best out there!"
"Got it!" the crowd responded in unison, morale high.
The buffet dishes weren't particularly exquisite, but they made up for it in sheer volume. Fried chicken, french fries, pasta, sausages, and synthetic meat patties were piled up like small mountains, more than enough for these growing teenagers to eat to their hearts' content.
Most of the students were experienced. Knowing that the afternoon would require intense mental exertion, they ate some sugary foods and stopped when they were about seventy or eighty percent full. They then began drinking water and chatting, conserving their energy.
However, in one corner of the dining table, a highly discordant scene unfolded.
The plates in front of Lin Mo were already stacked three layers high.
Tong Dong sat opposite him, resting his chin on one hand, his eyes showing a bit of accustomed helplessness.
He was already used to Lin Mo's extraordinary appetite.
The other students, meanwhile, watched helplessly as Lin Mo demolished a plate like a whirlwind sweeping away scattered clouds, then stood up, calmly walked to the buffet counter, and loaded up a fresh plate.
"Lin Mo is as big an eater as ever."
At first, Xu Haoming watched the students eat with a cheerful smile, but when his eyes landed on Lin Mo, the smile on his lips gradually froze.
Seeing Lin Mo returning with yet another mountain of food, he finally couldn't sit still anymore.
"Lin Mo, eat a little less! If you eat this much, what will you do if your stomach gets upset during the competition this afternoon?"
Lin Mo was just stuffing a chicken wing into his mouth. Hearing this, he vaguely waved his hand. "It's fine, Mr. Xu. I won't."
After saying that, he picked up a large chopstick-full of fried rice, his movements showing not a hint of hesitation.
Students from other schools at the surrounding tables also noticed the commotion and cast amazed glances their way.
Even Director Huang, who was accompanying them, clicked his tongue in wonder at the sight, unable to help but sigh, "Young people nowadays really can eat."
Hearing this, question marks popped up over the heads of the other students.
"I'm a young person too, why can't I eat that much?"
"Stop talking. I feel like my stomach has been insulted."
Amidst the whispers, Lin Mo finally put down his chopsticks and pulled a tissue to wipe his mouth.
He had originally planned to have a feast at the roast goose noodle stall, but his mood had been interrupted. Picking it back up now was perfectly fine.
Even though students from other schools were pointing and whispering, he didn't mind in the slightest.
After eating and drinking his fill, there was a brief wait.
The competition was about to begin...
And then.
The bell for the end of the competition rang. The three-hour mental grueling battle finally came to an end.
As their tense nerves relaxed, exhaustion and hunger surged over them like a tidal wave.
The crowd swarmed out of the arena, only to find that the museum's restaurant had long since closed. One by one, they sighed in disappointment.
Everyone had to take out their own little snacks or the ones provided by the school.
In this regard, Xu Haoming had come prepared. Once on the bus, he distributed chocolate and candy to everyone.
The minibus started slowly, carrying the exhausted group of students back to school.
Lin Mo pressed his forehead against the cold car window, looking out at the rapidly retreating street scenery, somewhat lost in thought.
"Still thinking about what happened this morning?" Tong Dong, who was sitting next to him, handed over a chilled bottle of iced black tea and asked casually.
This was the cold beverage bought by Director Huang; it contained sugar and could help people recover their energy.
"No," Lin Mo answered simply, twisting off the cap and taking a sip. "I'm just thinking about what to eat for dinner."
"Oh, oh, my treat?"
Lin Mo shook his head. "Can't. My cousin is waiting at home for me to bring her food."
"Alright then. After the competition ends, the next time we meet will be when school starts."
Tong Dong said.
"What are you talking about? Did you forget I have to be there the day you buy the jade pendant?"
Hearing this, Tong Dong finally realized.
"Oh right, I do need your help with that. I'll treat you to a meal that day then."
"Sure."
By the time the minibus arrived at the school, the setting sun on the horizon was dyeing the sky with gorgeous evening clouds.
Lin Mo waved goodbye to Tong Dong and turned into a deserted alley alone.
Confirming there was no one around, his figure swayed slightly, and he vanished from the alley.
The next second, he was already standing in his own living room.
A faint smell of dish soap still lingered in the air. On the dining table, the bowls and chopsticks he had left behind before going out in the morning had been cleaned immaculately and stacked neatly on the draining rack.
It seemed that this eldest young lady of the Ning family wasn't completely oblivious to household chores after all.
Wait a minute, where did my giant bottle of dish soap go?!
No wonder the smell of dish soap wouldn't dissipate.
Lin Mo's gaze swept under the table.
Just then, the door to the master bedroom clicked open.
Ning Qingcheng walked out, rubbing her sleepy eyes. One could notice an issue: the girl had changed into a different set of pajamas.
"You're back?" she yawned, her voice still carrying the hoarseness of someone who had just woken up.
She had only woken up because she sensed the spatial fluctuations.
"Slept all day?" Lin Mo asked calmly.
Lin Mo asked casually, but his eyes looked toward the files that had been placed back under the table.
After all, with his divine sense now vast enough, he could know exactly what Ning Qingcheng had been doing at home.
Ning Qingcheng nodded, seeming still a bit groggy. "Yeah, I went back to sleep after washing the dishes. I feel much better now."
She didn't say a single word about looking at the files again.
Nor did she mention the dish soap that was more than half empty.
And, of course, she didn't mention the pajamas she had gotten wet while washing dishes in the morning.
He didn't ask either.
Some things didn't need to be spelled out.
He could just teach her later when they got back. A person needed to have at least some basic common sense and survival skills.
Lin Mo looked at where the microwave was in the house, getting the feeling that this microwave was going to go through a lot in the future.
"Alright, let's go out to eat, and we can stop by the supermarket to buy some daily necessities."
In truth, things like shampoo in Lin Mo's house were already running out.
His divine sense swept over the date at the end of the toothpaste tube. Great, it had been expired for a year.
Lin Mo walked expressionlessly into the bathroom and tossed it into the trash can.
It seemed that with an extra person in the house, his living habits would have to change as well.

and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!

] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...