The evening sun dipped behind the clouds as Lin Yi walked through the quiet pathways of Jiangcheng University's tech building. The concrete walls of the annex were old, but inside pulsed the beating heart of the school's most competitive—and most elite—student organizations.
In his hand, Lin Yi held an invitation letter.
"You are officially invited to the Jiangcheng University Artificial Intelligence Club as a trial member. Your entrance will be reviewed via practical performance over one week. — Advisor Hu Jianming"
The Shenhao System had rewarded him instantly upon accepting.
[Mission Complete: Join Campus Organization]
[Reward: ¥20,000 Deposited]
He now had nearly ¥80,000 in his system wallet, yet outwardly he still looked like a struggling college student.
And he intended to keep it that way.
The AI Club's meeting room was sleek and cold, filled with rows of high-end computers, VR headsets, and multi-monitor stations. Everything screamed funded and elite.
Only about ten students filled the room, all of them absorbed in technical discussion or deep in code. These weren't just regular undergrads—they were the top 1%. Hackathon winners, app developers, and algorithm competition champions.
Lin Yi quietly stepped inside.
A tall guy with dyed silver hair looked up from a soldering desk. "New guy?"
Lin Yi nodded. "Lin Yi. Professor Hu sent me."
The guy gave a half-smile. "You're the bottle picker who solved Professor Hu's problem, right?"
Some of the other students chuckled.
Lin Yi didn't flinch. "Yes."
The silver-haired guy held out his hand. "I'm Yuan Peng. Club vice-president. Welcome to hell, where we code till our eyes bleed."
Lin Yi shook his hand.
Yuan Peng gestured toward the far corner. "You'll be working over there. But fair warning—if you can't build something useful by Friday, you're out."
"Understood," Lin Yi replied calmly.
He walked to the desk and started setting up.
Not far from him sat a girl—head down, fingers flying across the keyboard. Her long black hair was tied into a low ponytail, and a pair of silver-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. She hadn't looked up once since he entered.
But Lin Yi noticed something: her screen wasn't filled with code. It was filled with simulations. Neural nets. Learning models.
And she was faster than anyone he'd ever seen.
[Scanning Nearby Individual...]
[Target: Li Shiyu – Intelligence: 98/100 | Rank: Top 3 in National AI Competition | Personality: Cold, Logical, Unfriendly]
So the system could scan people too?
Interesting.
Suddenly, her typing stopped.
"You're blocking the signal," she said coldly, still not looking at him.
Lin Yi blinked. "What?"
She finally turned her head, her dark eyes sharp and unreadable. "You're standing in the way of the router. It's throwing off my neural model latency."
He stepped aside.
"Sorry."
She didn't respond. Just resumed typing as if he no longer existed.
Yuan Peng chuckled nearby. "Don't mind her. That's Li Shiyu. She talks like a robot but codes like a god."
Lin Yi sat down and opened his laptop. He already had an idea for what he wanted to build: a lightweight AI-based course scheduler app. Something students would actually use. Nothing fancy, but practical.
He could finish it in a few hours with the system's help—but he didn't. Instead, he worked slowly, line by line, testing and tweaking as if he had no shortcuts. He wanted to learn deeply, not just cheat.
[Suggestion: Use 'Smart Code Assist' Plugin – Cost: ¥2,000]
He accepted.
The plugin didn't auto-complete for him, but it highlighted his logic flow, corrected inefficiencies, and suggested better data handling methods. Like a world-class tutor whispering into his ear.
Hours passed.
When the meeting wrapped up, Yuan Peng passed behind him and glanced at his screen.
"You actually wrote this from scratch?"
Lin Yi nodded.
"Not bad, newbie. Show it to the president on Friday. If she likes it, you're in."
Lin Yi paused. "Who's the president?"
Yuan Peng pointed.
Li Shiyu.
Of course.
That night, Lin Yi returned to his dorm. The hallway was noisy, but Room 307 was quiet. His roommates had all gone out for late-night hotpot—without inviting him, of course.
He didn't care.
He sat at his desk, opened the system panel, and checked his notifications.
[Coding Time: +6 hours]
[Skill Progress: Programming +5]
[New Passive Unlocked: 'Efficient Thinker' – Boosts Logic Skill by 10%]
[System Comment: Host is evolving steadily. Hidden dragon stirring beneath shallow waters.]
Lin Yi smiled faintly.
He was still in the shadows.
Still small to the world.
But step by step, line by line, he was building something stronger than any showy car or gold watch.
Power in silence. Glory in patience.
And soon, not even the cold girl with the sharp eyes would be able to ignore him.