Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 173 Ultimately, humans are just toys for other humans.
At the edge of the playground, Lu Tao was writing and drawing in his notebook.

Specifically, it's about drawing a stadium. The school's stadium is too ordinary; there are 1000 of the same kind across the country, lacking any unique features or aesthetic appeal.

A wave-like structure for the outer ring of the main stage would enhance the sense of speed and technology. The artificial turf in the middle of the track is underutilized; a multi-level parking garage design could integrate one or two levels of space that doesn't require direct sunlight, such as ping-pong tables or fitness equipment. The top could then be a half-size soccer field.
Hmm. The cost might increase tenfold, but what does that have to do with the designer?
He's handsome, that's all that matters!

In Lu Tao's hands, a pencil and an eraser are like precision instruments; he needs no other tools and his hands move at lightning speed.

A futuristic stadium with a technological feel gradually becomes concrete and clear, impeccable in terms of proportion and perspective, and even includes shadows.

From a young age, he possessed exceptional artistic talent and spatial awareness, surpassing not only children of his age but also many professionally trained adults.

However, it also has its own set of problems.
As Lu Tao was writing furiously, he felt the sunlight being blocked. He looked up and saw Zhai Da.
His expression immediately froze: "Uh, hello."

Zhai Da grinned and said, "Lu Tao, right? My name is Zhai Da. We met yesterday."

Lu Tao thought to himself, "Of course I remember. The Rubik's Cube I've cherished for several years is gone. It's just that I had a sleepless night, which caused me to get dizzy after standing for half an hour during military training, making a fool of myself in front of the whole class. In the end, I was just left to fend for myself in a corner."

I'm not sad at all, really!

Zhai Da looked at the other person's notebook. This was the first time he had ever seen a special "notebook" item that was being created.
It seems they've accumulated a lot of knowledge.

"Do you like painting?"

Lu Tao tried to persuade him for a long time, but in the end he couldn't say, "No, I don't like it, this isn't mine, it's yours."

His left hand trembled involuntarily. Normally, he would hold the Rubik's Cube to keep himself calm, but now the Rubik's Cube was gone.

It felt as eerie as a fortune teller having a hand cramp.

"I...uh."

Zhai Da could tell that this guy was probably not good at socializing, so he tried to be friendly and said, "Don't be nervous, is there anyone here? Can I sit for a while?"

As he spoke, he sat down.

So Lu Tao stood up.

Zhai Da could only stand up again: "Are you leaving?"

Lu Tao sat down again.

Zhai Da, not understanding why, sat down again.

Lu Tao stood up again.

Zhai Da:
What's wrong? Can't select it?

As Zhai Da drew closer, Lu Tao's expression became increasingly unnatural, as if he were on the verge of collapse.

But he didn't leave; it was as if he was stuck in a bug.

Zhai Da patiently guided him, asking, "Which college are you in? Architecture?"

Lu Tao nodded.

Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) has two hidden strengths: Russian language, which is a legacy of its history, and architecture, which is one of the "Eight Old Schools of Architecture." While not widely known outside the industry, it is highly regarded and ranks among the top five in the country.

For a long time, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) could even rival Tsinghua University's architecture department. However, against the backdrop of the decline of Northeast China, HIT's attractiveness to students has gradually weakened. Why would students choose to come to Harbin when they can go to Tsinghua University in Beijing or Tongji University in Shanghai?
Going to Nanjing to study "Southeast" would be better than coming here!
Therefore, the architecture department of Harbin Institute of Technology gradually became "strong but not prominent".

Of course, this is not to say that Lu Tao's choice was wrong, nor is it to say that people from Tsinghua University and Tongji University are better than Lu Tao. Perhaps they only scored a few points higher than Lu Tao in the college entrance examination, but Lu Tao may be several times more talented than them.

After all, these are people recognized by the system as "talented." Zhai Da has only met two and a half of them so far: his maternal grandfather Yu Lihua, Lu Wei, and a person who is suspected to be Xu Xuejun.

This is a very strong endorsement, at least one in ten thousand.

"Judging from your accent, you're not from around here, are you?"

Lu Tao nodded quickly.

Can I see your notebook?

Lu Tao looked troubled, as if he was about to burst, but he still obediently handed the notebook to Zhai Da.

Zhai Da smiled and turned to the first page.

The sign above, written in bold cartoon font, reads: "No one is allowed to look! Otherwise, don't blame me for getting angry!!"

Zhai Da's smile froze on his face.

Below is a drawing of an angry cat head pointing at the viewer's face. The cat head is extremely angry, spitting everywhere, full of tension.
The drawing is quite good.

Zhai Damu said with a stern face, "If you can't see it, you can just say so. I'm not some kind of bandit."

In his haste, Lu Tao tore that page out: "Look, look!"

"Really good to look at? Are you sure you won't get angry?"

"Uh... this notebook isn't actually mine. Yes, I found it. Here, it's yours! I'm going for a run!"

After saying that, he just left, walking away without moving his hands or feet.

Zhai Da glanced at the system notification that he had acquired ownership. This guy really meant it!
Looking again at the other person's hurried back, it seemed that Lu Tao had a number above his head indicating the "quantity of special items he possesses," which had changed from 1 to 0.

What is this? A gift from nature?
Lu Tao's heart was bleeding at this moment.

On the first day, I lost my beloved Rubik's Cube, and on the second day, I even lost my notebook that I had treasured for many years.

------

Lu Tao kept his word. As if to prove that he wasn't acting crazy because of social anxiety, he ran two laps even when no one asked him to.

Even when passing by Zhai Da's side, he would speed up and run until his face turned pale.

The students from Class 1 of Materials Engineering, who were being punished by running laps, were stunned. They thought to themselves, "Is this person also from our class?"
Later, Lu Tao rejoined the architecture department's team, but Zhai Da still remembered him and thought he would come back to him later.

People whose talents are recognized by the system definitely need to interact with others more. Does being bad at socializing matter?
In any case, i-people will eventually become e-people's toys.
After a brief drill in the morning, the Materials Engineering Class 1 was taken to the canteen. Although they usually eat normally, during military training they had to line up as a class to enter. Fortunately, they were free once inside the canteen.

The Harbin Institute of Technology cafeteria is way better than the Maofang Middle School cafeteria. Zhai Da ordered three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, with rice spread out evenly, and it only cost a little over three yuan after swiping his meal card. The price-performance ratio is off the charts.

So far, he has not completed the task of unlocking the [Dynamic MP3], and losing 50KG of fat is by no means easy, especially when his accumulated fat reserves are insufficient over the years. He can only rely on his daily metabolism to make progress, and is currently stuck at (35.9/50kg).

Therefore, he never controls his diet; if he eats too much, he just exercises more.

Just as they were about to enjoy their meal, the surrounding seats were instantly filled, with many people from the Materials Engineering Class 1 crowding around, and even some standing in the back.

The skinny Ge Shang leaned in closest, whispering to Zhai Da, "Top Scholar! You've been hiding your talent well! You've been playing games with us all morning!"

Zhai Da could only put down his chopsticks: "I didn't hide it. I can't exactly call out my own name everywhere I go, can I?"

A girl with long hair tied up in a bun and an oval face excitedly said, "I also follow your blog. Your book is in my dorm. Can you sign it for me later?"

This is Jiang Jingxuan, whom Ge Shang mentioned had the potential to become the "campus beauty". Her appearance is indeed above average, and she has already made a name for herself in a small circle. She has a standard oval face and dimples when she smiles.

"You look so different from your online photos! I didn't even recognize you this morning! Uh, I'm not saying you're not handsome in person, it's just that you're not quite what I imagined."

Some materials from Zhai Da's previous autograph session were leaked. At that time, he was dressed in a black shirt and glasses, which gave him a cool and scholarly look. He was described as a "high-performance handsome guy".

High IQ + sexually indifferent + able to write.

But after all, that was a special outfit for a special occasion. It's normal that Jiang Jingxuan wouldn't recognize her if she were wearing a military training uniform, since clothing accounts for 55% of one's "appearance".

Although Zhai Da, this classmate, might not be the same as the "classmate" that everyone in the Materials Engineering Class 1 imagined, and they would certainly not be so close in the next four years, it still couldn't stop their enthusiasm, and Zhai Da picked out a couple of replies to reply to.

At this moment, Qiu Zixuan, with his round head, seized the opportunity and immediately said, "By the way, our class hasn't had a get-together yet. It's rare that everyone is here today, how about a dinner party tonight?"

Actually, someone had suggested this activity yesterday, but the girls didn't seem very interested. They probably thought that the twenty-odd dishes of dried vegetables in the classroom weren't worth washing their hair with. But today is different.

With Zhai Da around, the girls rushed to wash their hair after military training, sometimes even scrubbing it until it was steaming.

Zhai Da refused, saying, "Let's forget it and wait until after military training. Haven't you checked? Harbin Institute of Technology has a traditional program: a 16-kilometer night march. It can happen any night. As soon as you hear the bugle call, you go downstairs and set off, continuing until five in the morning."

Ge Shang's voice rose several octaves: "What the hell?! Sixteen kilometers?! Is that even possible? Even a dog would die running sixteen kilometers!"

Li Xiao, whose name means "local," explained, "It's not about running, but mostly walking. It seems to cross half of the main urban area. I'd heard of it before, but I thought it had been canceled."

Almost everyone looked ashen-faced. Even the Seven Sons of National Defense couldn't play like this, could they?
A 16-kilometer training run at dawn—thankfully, they were all young college students; if it had been middle-aged office workers, half of them would have died from overwork.
Zhai Da nodded and said, "So let's skip the gathering. We need to conserve our energy every day, just in case."

Ge Shang spotted the blind spot: "If it's a random day, how can you participate if you don't live in the dorm? Do you have inside information about which day it is?"

After finishing his meal, Zhai Da wiped his mouth and said, "I'm different."

"I won't participate."

(End of this chapter)