Friday came faster than expected.
The AI Club meeting room buzzed with a quiet intensity. Monitors flickered with lines of code, graphs, and models. The club's president—Li Shiyu—sat at her usual station, expression unreadable, typing so fast it sounded like rainfall on a roof.
"Alright, everyone," said Yuan Peng, clapping his hands. "It's pitch day. Newbies will show their projects. President Shiyu will judge. If she frowns, you fail."
A few chuckles echoed around the room, though everyone seemed half-nervous.
Lin Yi sat in the back, calm as ever.
[System Reminder: Pitching a project publicly may result in reputation growth. Reputation triggers system evolution.]
[Optional Bonus Mission: Impress Li Shiyu – Reward: Skill Upgrade Token ×1]
He ignored the prompt for now.
He had worked every night this week—cleaning code, optimizing the app, refining it manually despite having tools that could do it in a blink. This wasn't about speed. It was about proving to himself he belonged here.
Not just because of the system.
But because he earned it.
One by one, the new members presented.
Most were… decent.
A voice-controlled calculator.
A facial-recognition-based dorm checker.
Even a budget-planning app with auto-suggestions.
All cool ideas, but half-finished or clunky.
Li Shiyu never looked impressed. She didn't speak. Just took notes quietly and moved on.
Then it was Lin Yi's turn.
He stood up with his laptop and walked to the front calmly. Yuan Peng gave him a nod.
"What's your app?" he asked.
"SmartSchedule," Lin Yi said simply. "A course management system that uses a lightweight AI to auto-generate optimal class schedules based on learning preferences, difficulty, and weekly workload. It also predicts burnout risks."
The room went quiet.
"...You built that in one week?" someone asked in disbelief.
"Yes."
He connected his laptop to the projector.
The app interface appeared on-screen—clean, modern, intuitive. Lin Yi walked them through it smoothly, showing how it synced with school schedules, auto-recommended breaks between intense subjects, and even rearranged study time based on fatigue levels.
When he ran a simulation using Li Shiyu's known course list, the AI optimized her schedule in seconds.
Silence.
Even she raised an eyebrow.
"That's… not bad," Yuan Peng muttered. "Pretty advanced UX for a one-week project."
Another member whispered, "I thought he just picked up bottles."
Lin Yi turned back to face the room. He didn't smile. Didn't smirk. Just nodded.
"I don't expect praise," he said calmly. "Just feedback."
Li Shiyu finally stood, walked toward the board, and stared at the code logs he'd displayed.
She stayed quiet for a long time, scrolling through his logic trees and optimization functions.
Then she finally spoke.
"No wasted operations. Modular architecture. Efficient memory use. You're not a beginner."
Lin Yi shrugged. "I just studied."
"You have system help, don't you?" she said flatly.
Lin Yi's heart skipped. "What?"
Her eyes narrowed. "I meant a system of study. A method. Routines. You work too clean to be random."
He relaxed slightly.
"Yes. I do."
She looked at Yuan Peng. "Accept him. He's in."
Everyone looked stunned.
Yuan Peng grinned. "Well damn. Congrats, newbie."
[Mission Complete: Impress Li Shiyu]
[Reward: Skill Upgrade Token ×1]
[Reputation Increased: +5]
[System Evolution Progress: 6%]
Lin Yi returned to his seat quietly.
Some still whispered about him. But it wasn't mockery anymore.
It was curiosity.
Even the top dogs had noticed him now.
After the meeting, as the members packed up, Li Shiyu approached his desk.
"You're better than you let on."
Lin Yi paused, surprised she even spoke to him.
"I'm just doing my best," he replied.
She handed him a flash drive. "National University AI Competition. We're entering next month. This is the qualifier material. Study it."
"I thought only core members participated."
"You are one now."
Before he could respond, she walked away without another word.
Back at the dorm, Lin Yi sat alone while his roommates laughed over another late-night livestream.
He plugged the flash drive into his laptop and opened the file.
Challenge: Build an AI that can play a simplified trading simulation, make accurate economic predictions, and outperform 80% of human-designed strategies.
Tough.
But not impossible.
He smiled.
[New Mission Unlocked: Win AI Competition Qualifier – Reward: Advanced Investment Pack]
[System Comment: The deeper the water, the stronger the dragon.]
Let's go.