"I don't need to join the recruitment anymore," Lin Yuan repeated.
His original plan was to visit the Evolvers Association, register himself, and then refuse military recruitment as an evolver.
However, after becoming a second-class citizen, everything became much simpler.
The Goddess of Wisdom provided three ways to avoid being drafted, and being an evolver or having second-class citizenship both granted exemption from conscription.
"Xiao Yuan, are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?" His mother, Lu Qiong, asked with a face full of worry rather than joy.
Forced conscription is no joke and not something you can just refuse on a whim.
To Lu Qiong, it seemed as if Lin Yuan had been driven crazy by something, causing him to speak nonsense.
"I'm fine," Lin Yuan shook his head slightly, thinking for a moment, "I should be an evolver now. If you don't believe me, take a look."
Lin Yuan raised his right hand and gently pushed towards the direction of the living room.
A few meters away, a ceramic bowl on the dining table turned into dust.
"Ah?" Mother Lu Qiong was stunned, her eyes wide open.
Faced with such an unbelievable scene, her heart started racing.
"Is he really an evolver?" Lu Qiong murmured to herself.
Aside from those mysterious evolvers, how could ordinary people achieve such feats?
"Lao Lin, Lao Lin, you must come see this," Lu Qiong quickly ran out, rushing to share the joyous news with her husband, Lin Shoucheng.
Moments later, Lin Yuan sat at the dining table.
His father, Lin Shoucheng, and his mother, Lu Qiong, sat upright, scrutinizing Lin Yuan as if meeting their son for the first time.
Especially Lin Shoucheng, who had been racking his brains over the conscription issue.
Even though the chances were slim, he couldn't just stand by and watch his son being sent to fight against alien races.
However, Lin Shoucheng couldn't have dreamed that the problem would be solved in such a different way.
Lin Yuan had become an evolver.
According to the Human Civilization Charter, even an unevolved evolver has the right to refuse conscription.
"How did you become an evolver?" Father Lin Shoucheng couldn't help but ask.
There are many ways to become an evolver, but most require significant resources, whether in money or other means.
Lin Yuan was just an ordinary student, with no means to pay any significant price.
"I woke up this morning, and it just happened," Lin Yuan thought for a moment and casually fabricated an explanation.
Naturally, he couldn't reveal the Gate of Myriad Realms in his mind.
It was his greatest secret, and no one could know, not even his closest family.
It's not that he thought his parents would harm him, but the more people who knew, the greater the risk of exposure.
"Could it be an awakening-type evolver?" Father Lin Shoucheng speculated excitedly.
Evolvers are divided into two types: unique and common.
Unique evolvers have many subcategories, including the awakening type.
Awakening-type evolvers carry evolutionary genes in their bloodline, which might remain dormant for a lifetime or manifest suddenly one day.
According to Lin Yuan's explanation, his son seemed very much like an awakening-type evolver.
"Could it be that in the Lin family history, there was a powerful evolver, passing down these genes?" Father Lin Shoucheng speculated proudly.
Mother Lu Qiong immediately disagreed, giving Lin Shoucheng a nudge. “Why can’t it be my side that passed down the genes?” Their tone was noticeably more relaxed.
Regardless of the genes' origin, the fact that Lin Yuan had become an evolver meant that forced conscription no longer concerned him.
With conscription avoided, previous government offers would naturally be nullified.
But compared to their son becoming an evolver, these things paled in significance.
After all, as long as Lin Yuan stepped into the evolver community, even if not skyrocketing to success, crossing social classes would be a cinch, benefiting them all.
In the virtual world of Azure Wave Star, the Central Plaza District is bustling.
Only second-class citizens and evolvers above that level can access this area.
Ordinary citizens don’t even have the permissions to enter.
The Central Plaza in the virtual world is the most lively area, with the giant stele listing the Azure Wave Evolution Rankings standing conspicuously there.
It receives countless admiring glances from evolvers and high-ranking citizens alike.
"When you first become an evolver and enter this virtual world, you need to understand the significance of the Azure Wave Evolution Rankings," explained a middle-aged woman wearing black-framed glasses, addressing a group of young men and women gathered in a corner of the Central Plaza.
"The Azure Wave Evolution Rankings feature the hundred most powerful evolution paths in the history of Azure Wave Star, with some even gaining prominence in other star domains. Remember, these hundred paths have been refined over a long history and are monumental to us evolvers and cannot be altered," she explained quickly.
The listening group nodded repeatedly, understanding the value the Azure Wave Evolution Rankings held.
"Okay," the woman nodded slightly.
Finally, no one jumped in to refute her, their vision not matching their ambitions.
"Now then," she was about to continue when one young woman with a doll-like face gasped suddenly, prompting everyone’s focus to shift.
"Sister Ruan, it changed! The rankings changed," the young woman stammered.
"You must be mistaken. How could the Azure Wave Evolution Rankings change?" the woman wearing the black-framed glasses frowned slightly.
The top hundred evolution paths on the list were selected from countless other paths over nearly a million years, being the strongest.
A change meant one path had been surpassed, which seemed unimaginable.
Yet, out of curiosity, she looked up again at the rankings.
"The Blood Evolution Path," the black-framed woman first directed her gaze to the 'Blood' Evolution Path, which had been at rank one hundred.
"It’s really gone?" Her heart skipped a beat.
The 'Blood' Evolution Path originally at rank one hundred had vanished, replaced by the previous ninety-ninth ranked path.
"Martial Evolution Path" appears as a new name now visible at rank ninety-three.
"Is it this path that made it onto the Azure Wave Evolution Rankings?" The woman's heart pounded with curiosity.
Making it onto the list had already shown the Martial Evolution Path's potential.
What shocked her was which master created this path.
"Something big is about to happen," she thought to herself, knowing that a change in the Azure Wave Evolution Rankings would inevitably draw the attention of various powers on Azure Wave Star.
Those who cultivated the Blood Evolution Path, now pushed off the rankings, must be enraged.
The change in the rankings was noticed at the same time by others in the plaza, causing a wave of excitement to spread across the area.
"Incredible! Last time the rankings changed was five hundred and sixty years ago."
"Ah! Who came up with the Martial Evolution Path? Was it Dr. Chen or Dean Shi?"
"I'm not sure. Dr. Chen is my relative, and I haven't heard of him working on a new evolution path recently."
"Has anyone tried the Martial Evolution Path? What’s it like?"
Evolvers and citizens above second-class rank discussed fervently, eager to know who developed the Martial Evolution Path.
Unfortunately, with citizen numbers hidden, no one knew the answer.
Lin Yuan had no idea that his upload of the Martial Evolution Path had caused such a storm in the virtual world.
He was busy browsing the marketplace, looking to purchase some nutrient liquids to quickly restore his strength.
The marketplace is a shopping platform set up by the human civilization’s government, with a wide range of goods at fair prices, backed by official endorsement.
As a second-class citizen, Lin Yuan browsed a list of mostly restricted items.
Ordinary citizens could never access items like genetic serums, priced at a million per bottle.
"Advanced Nutrient Liquid?" Lin Yuan quickly searched and locked his attention on advanced nutrient liquids. 'Nutrient liquids' are essential supplies for star explorers, greatly replenishing their energy consumption.
Nutrient liquids are categorized into low, medium, and advanced levels.
A low-level nutrient liquid contains enough energy to sustain an ordinary person for a month, meaning a normal person could go a month without eating after using one.
As for medium and advanced levels, they're mainly for massive beasts or exotic creatures.
Regular humans can't endure the potent energy in these high-grade nutrient liquids.
(End of Chapter)