Aptitude Upgrade, Total Annihilation!

"Hm, another system notification?"

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged. He handed the mushrooms to Lu Tang and told her to wash and prepare them, while he put a pot of water on to boil, ready to pluck the pheasant.

After dealing with the pheasant, he found time to skin the rabbit and put it in water to soak out the blood.

Lu Ming was cooking porridge, making even more than he had at noon.

He had probably added extra rice because he was afraid Lu Chen had not been eating his fill each day.

The three of them worked until it was completely dark before sitting down to a fragrant meal of chicken and mushroom stew.

"Mmm, delicious!" Lu Tang held a drumstick, her mouth shiny with grease and her eyes curved into smiling crescents.

Lu Ming dug in as well.

He had been training hard these past few days, and his appetite had grown considerably.

"Eat up. We have plenty of grain at home, and all this cured meat too. From now on, I can go hunting every day. We'll have more meat than we can eat!"

Lu Chen watched the two of them wolf down their food, a somewhat "benevolent" smile on his face.

After dinner, Lu Chen tested Lu Tang on what she had learned.

To his surprise, his little sister was a little genius. She wrote out every character he had taught her from memory, each stroke clear, with level horizontals and straight verticals.

"Good, keep it up!"

Lu Chen praised her.

Lu Ming had studied with their mother for a while before. Although he did not know many characters, he had a foundation, so Lu Chen did not make a point of supervising him. Instead, he spent some time teaching him throwing techniques before sending the two of them to bed.

Only after they were both asleep did Lu Chen have time to rest in the courtyard.

I feel like I'm raising two children!

Lu Chen shook his head. Back on Earth, he had only graduated eight or nine years ago and had never married. In his mind, he still felt like a child himself. Yet after transmigrating, he was only fifteen, and already it was as if he had become a father.

Opening the panel, he checked the notifications from that evening.

[Guided and influenced by the host, the fates of Lu Si, Teng Jun, and Luo Yong have changed.]

[Lu Si suffered severe kidney failure, for which there was no cure, and died; Teng Jun and Luo Yong were fed feces to induce vomiting, suffered cross-infection, and were left paralyzed in bed]

[Stage Fate Value gains:]

[Lu Si's death: +25]

[Teng Jun and Luo Yong's infection and paralysis: +60]

[Total: +85]

Lu Si died too? Looks like Lu San and Lu Si had slightly higher standing, so they ate more mushrooms back then? Teng Jun and Luo Yong ate less, so they're dying more slowly too?

Lu Chen had his suspicions.

Still, Lu San had gotten off easy.

He had died so casually.

I used 100 points before and had 40 left. Now I have another 85, for a total of 125. I wonder if the [Strong and Sturdy] trait can be upgraded again? How many points will the next upgrade take?

Lu Chen tried tapping it, but the attempt to add points failed.

The next one actually costs 1,000 points? Does the number of points required increase tenfold each time?

Lu Chen was a little dumbfounded.

He turned his attention to [Average Aptitude].

Add points to Average Aptitude!

Lu Chen said inwardly.

The next second, 10 Fate Value vanished.

[Average Aptitude] immediately became [Fair Aptitude].

He felt as though his mind had become much clearer.

My head's itchy. Am I growing a brain?

Lu Chen scratched his head and looked at his other traits.

[Skill traits: Throwing: Minor Achievement (6%); Beginner Chopping (6%); Stabbing: Beginner (7%)]

Throwing went up another 1%? Nice!

Lu Chen looked at Chopping and Thrusting but did not immediately add points to them.

I'll practice on my own first and see just how fair this Fair Aptitude is.

Lu Chen picked up his bamboo spear, stepped into a forward stance, and thrust. He drew it back and thrust again.

The straw ball was struck dead center again and again.

He felt that something was not quite right with his movements, so he made a slight adjustment and continued thrusting.

When the moon reached the middle of the sky, he stopped and looked at the progress bar.

Stabbing: Beginner (10%)

Whoa, is the difference that big? I remember Throwing went up 2% in one shichen before. Now, in about the same amount of time, this went up 3%. That's one and a half times as much?

He was very excited.

At this rate, he could practice for one shichen every morning, teach classes in the morning, practice for half a shichen in the afternoon before going into the mountains to hunt, and then practice for another one and a half shichen at night. That was three shichen, enough for a 9% increase. In just ten days, he could bring Thrusting to minor mastery!

So in ten days, I can save 10 Fate Value?

Lu Chen did the math and suddenly found it less appealing.

The cultivation gained by adding points was more solid after all. What he gained through painstaking practice was far too flimsy.

He decisively put 10 points into [Chopping].

The familiar warm current surged through his body again, concentrating on his arms, shoulders, back, and chest muscles, as well as some of the muscles in his waist and abdomen.

[Chopping, minor mastery (6%)]

[Increases Chopping Efficiency and speed by 20%, and armor penetration by 10%.]

My strikes are faster, and the damage has increased? Not bad!

After several rounds of the warm current transforming his body, the [Minor Injury] trait had disappeared and become [Recovered].

And thanks to the warm current and all the food he had eaten over the past few days, [Malnourished] had become [Normal Nutrition].

Lu Chen was very satisfied with how he had spent those 10 points.

But these skills all strengthen the upper body. They don't do anything for my leg muscles. If I have to run away, won't everyone outrun me?

He thought for a moment. Maybe I can find a way to get a lightness skill trait or something, by tying sandbags to my feet, or practicing the high jump and long jump, running, squats, and other exercises for my leg muscles?

Lu Chen decided to add all these exercises to his routine starting tomorrow morning.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Lu Chen was awakened by notification sounds. It was still dark outside.

[Guided and influenced by the host, the fates of Teng Jun and Luo Yong have changed.]

[Teng Jun and Luo Yong were fed feces to induce vomiting, suffered cross-infection, and died of organ failure]

[Stage Fate Value gains:]

[Teng Jun and Luo Yong's deaths: +30]

Lying in bed, Lu Chen looked at the beam overhead. All four of them are dead now. No matter what the Green Bamboo Gang thinks, I have to prepare for the worst: that they blame me for the deaths of all four.

In that case, the Green Bamboo Gang might come for revenge sometime in the next few days...

Lu Chen got up and pushed down his worries. After some simple stretches in his room, he went into the courtyard and started doing squats, jumps to reach as high as he could, and long jumps. Then he ran around the courtyard, accelerating suddenly at times and darting from side to side at others to train his agility.

When he figured it was about time, he wiped away his sweat and rinsed off. Then he made breakfast and woke Lu Ming and Lu Tang. After eating, they went to the school together.

On the way, people greeted him from time to time, smiling, with a trace of respect in their voices.

Lu Chen knew it was because they valued his position as a schoolteacher.

There were quite a few more students at the school than yesterday.

They were all children between five and eleven or twelve years old. Most were boys; including Lu Tang, there were only four girls.

"Quiet, everyone. Today is our first official day of class. Line up in order of height. Lu Ming, take charge of the boys' line. Lu Caiwei, take charge of the girls' line."

Lu Chen waited until all fifteen children were in position, then watched them quietly.

The noise gradually died down. The children all looked at Lu Chen, holding their breath and not daring to speak. Soon, not even a sparrow could be heard.

Only then did Lu Chen nod. "Very good!"

He began the lesson in earnest.

Meanwhile, more than ten li away, at the Green Bamboo Gang in Sand Lake County Town.

Cheng Datou glared at one of his subordinates, his face full of fury.

"I was only fucking gone for three days! I just got back, and you tell me Lu San and the other three are all dead? Didn't they go back to collect a debt? How could they be dead? Who killed them?"

"Boss, after they came back three days ago, they went drinking that night. I heard they started having diarrhea as soon as they finished. Lu San fell into a cesspit and drowned, while Lu Si passed out after vomiting and having diarrhea. He died not long after. I went to check on Teng Jun and Luo Yong this morning, and who would've thought they were dead too?"

The subordinate, Huang Chao, was also at a loss for words.

"Huh?"

Cheng Datou stared at him, dumbfounded.

What did he mean, fell into a cesspit and drowned?

They had not been murdered?

"How much did they drink? Enough to fall into a cesspit?"

As a minor leader in the Green Bamboo Gang, Cheng Datou had a few lives on his hands and had seen plenty of dead people, but this was the first time he had heard of someone drowning in a cesspit.

"Wasn't Lu Si just unconscious? How did he die too? And what about Teng Jun and Luo Yong? What happened to them? Can drinking kill you?"

Huang Chao replied, "At first, Teng Jun and Luo Yong only had stomachaches. They thought they'd eaten something bad and didn't take it seriously. But then Lu Si passed out, and Lu San still hadn't come out of the cesspit, so they realized something was wrong and called me over. I brought a doctor, and he said they'd been poisoned."

Cheng Datou's face immediately turned ashen.

Poisoned?

"Who did it? Who dared lay a hand on the Green Bamboo Gang's men?"

His rage soared to the heavens.

He only had five subordinates in total, and four of them had fucking died at once?

If he found out who had poisoned them, he would hack that person to death!

"I heard the doctor say it seemed they'd eaten poisonous mushrooms."

Cheng Datou said, "..."

He did not know how to vent the fury filling his chest.

"Are you sure it was poisonous mushrooms and not someone else secretly poisoning the Green Bamboo Gang's men? Did you check where they were drinking?" He grabbed Huang Chao by the collar, spraying spit all over his face.

"That's what the doctor said. The restaurant belongs to the Li Household, so we didn't dare ask. Besides, Teng Jun and Luo Yong had eaten too many poisonous mushrooms too. The doctor could only feed them fecal water to make them vomit, but it didn't work. There was no cure, and they died anyway."

As Huang Chao spoke, he recalled pulling the man out of the cesspit and feeding the others fecal water. His stomach immediately turned, and he could not help wanting to retch.

He would never forget that sight for the rest of his life.

He had been unable to eat these past two days.

Even listening to him made Cheng Datou feel a little sick.

"What the fuck were they eating poisonous mushrooms for when they had nothing better to do!?" Cheng Datou's chest heaved violently with anger.

"Forget it." He waved Huang Chao away. "Find a few men to drag them home and bury them. Oh, right, isn't there someone in Qingshan Village, Lu something, who owes me ten taels of silver? Go collect the money while you're at it!"

Huang Chao hurriedly agreed.

This was a plum assignment.

"Yes, boss. I'll go make arrangements right now!"