Disappearance

After thinking it over, Qu Jianlei ultimately decided not to use the Mutated Beast Crystal.

The unpredictable risks were simply too great. If the two proved incompatible, he would be completely at a loss.

In the end, he was just too poor... Qu Jianlei thought with self-mockery. Half a crystal was a loss he simply could not afford.

He held on until nearly midnight, when the last faint trace of pain finally vanished completely.

By then, Qu Jianlei had consumed three tubes of Nutrient Solution and taken nine small sips of water.

He slowly exhaled, opened his eyes, stood up, and looked around.

There was no one nearby. Everything was silent.

His body still felt fairly strong, so he carefully skirted the traps and walked to a relatively level patch of ground.

Then he sank his qi into his dantian, focused his mind, and performed a set of Eight Section Brocade.

Because he had lacked this kind of exercise for so long, his entire body began to heat up after one set.

Feeling the warmth, he simply practiced a set of Five Animals Play as well.

It had been a long time since he had done the Five Animals Play, so he was a little rusty. After finishing one set, he did another.

After two sets, he was getting into it, so he went through it once more.

After exercising for a while, he felt refreshed and clear-headed when he finally stopped.

Sweat had begun to form on his forehead, and he was a little hungry, so he took out another tube of Nutrient Solution and drank it.

After taking another three sips of water and waiting for his sweat to subside a little, he had a Flash of Inspiration and sat cross-legged on the ground to continue meditating.

Without hesitation, he grabbed half the crystal in his hand and continued focusing on his dantian.

The next moment, a violent surge of energy poured in through his palm and charged straight toward his brain.

For a moment, Qu Jianlei felt as if his head were splitting apart. His vision went black, and he nearly passed out.

He forcibly calmed himself and guided the energy in his brain toward his dantian.

Yet immediately afterward, the big-headed, small-bodied "Xiao Hu" seemed to appear in his mind again.

There was actually a hint of... resentment in the cartoon figure's large eyes? Qu Jianlei was not sure whether he was hallucinating, but he knew very clearly that if he let the energy keep flooding into his brain, he would explode.

Not as an adjective, but as a verb.

So he ignored Xiao Hu's appearance and resolutely tried to guide the energy into his dantian...

He did not even know what route the energy needed to take to enter his dantian, but he knew that if he did not try, he would certainly die.

His head swelled with ever greater pain. He endured it with all his strength, desperately maintaining the last shred of clarity in his mind.

The intense pain continued. He did not know how long it lasted before his entire body suddenly jolted.

That energy slowly dispersed into the blood vessels and muscles in his head, then was rapidly absorbed by his Meridians.

Immediately afterward, streams of heat flowed along the Meridians and surged into his dantian.

The swelling pain instantly decreased. In his daze, Qu Jianlei seemed to see "Xiao Hu" again.

There seemed to be a trace of grievance in those huge eyes, along with some... delight? But Qu Jianlei still could not be sure whether it was a hallucination. He had designed these subtle cartoon expressions back on Blue Star.

At the same time, he realized that the Nameless Qi Refining Art seemed to be operating on its own.

This was... utterly absurd! He deeply disliked situations beyond his control.

Such enormous uncertainty could bring him considerable harm.

However, he simply could not stop, or his head would explode.

He tried to memorize how the heat was circulating through his body.

Unfortunately, the severe pain in his head forced him to devote all his attention to resisting it.

Then he became... hungry again!

This sensation did not come from his stomach. Every part of his body was directly transmitting the message to his brain: hungry! Very hungry!! Extremely hungry!!! Qu Jianlei narrowed his eyes, grabbed two tubes of Nutrient Solution, tore them open, and stuffed them into his mouth.

There was no need to consider whether his body could handle that much energy. This was barely anything. Sure enough, not long afterward, every part of his body sent out hunger warnings again.

Only after consuming another six tubes of Nutrient Solution did the swelling pain in his head lessen enough for him to barely spare some attention.

Qu Jianlei had been holding back a breath, waiting to divert his attention at the first opportunity and assess his body's condition.

The moment the conditions were barely sufficient, he decisively began visualizing the Nameless Qi Refining Art. The cultivation method appeared in his mind again.

After being refined by this energy, the Qi Refining Art had indeed undergone considerable changes.

He had no time to examine it closely. Instead, he actively sensed how the heat in his Meridians was entering his dantian.

He would never have known without checking, but once he did, he was... quite startled! He felt as though he were looking at a wetland with an exceptionally developed network of waterways.

The Lower Dantian was there, while the various acupoints were like shallow puddles, connected by crisscrossing little channels.

That feeling was simply impossible to describe... In any case, he could not make sense of it.

It could be said that aside from the various acupoints, the rest of his body was practically one enormous blind box!

It was truly hard to put into words!

Seeing this, Qu Jianlei had no other ideas and could only study the Nameless Qi Refining Art once more.

The Qi Refining Art had indeed changed dramatically. It had become extremely detailed, though some parts remained vague.

Refining data is what I do best! Qu Jianlei endured the swelling pain and began comparing them one by one.

Besides comparing them, he also had to try to find the most reasonable route for the heat to circulate.

This was an extremely complicated task, and the constant trial and error would inflict serious damage on his body.

If he had been cultivating on Blue Star at this moment, he would surely have received countless warnings: never experiment recklessly.

A tiny deviation could lead to an error a thousand miles away. Did people think the phrase "cultivation deviation" was just empty talk?

In truth, Qu Jianlei understood the seriousness of the issue as well, but at this moment... he had No Other Choice!

It was not simply a question of whether he could cultivate, nor was it about improving his quality of life in the Wasteland.

The key was that a great calamity was right before him. If he did not resolve the hidden danger in his body, people would truly die.

Qu Jianlei's genes did not lack a reckless streak. Since he had made up his mind, his execution was equally decisive.

The process of trial and error... was better left unmentioned. The various pains and torments made Qu Jianlei silently repeat never again several hundred times.

After roughly three days and more than ten tubes of Nutrient Solution, he finally refined the Nameless Qi Refining Art until it was mostly complete.

There were still some details in the cultivation method that needed adjustment, but Qu Jianlei could no longer hold on and had to rest for a while.

After checking the surroundings and finding nothing unusual, he lay down and fell asleep.

He slept for nearly a full day and night.

After waking, he took stock of his belongings and felt a pang of pain: of the forty-odd tubes of Nutrient Solution, only half remained.

The Mutated Beast Crystal itself had shrunk by only around a third.

Then he spent another half day adjusting seven or eight minor details in the Qi Refining Art.

This will do for now! He took a deep breath, adjusted his condition, then loosened up with Five Animals Play and Eight Section Brocade.

Next, he consumed another tube of Nutrient Solution and three small sips of water, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began actively cultivating for the first time in his life.

After circulating qi through half a cycle, he felt some stagnation. Without even thinking, he reached out and grabbed the Mutated Beast Crystal.

Just as one full cycle was completed, he was about to examine what changes had occurred in his body when his brain suddenly shook violently.

The next moment, he saw "Xiao Hu" in his mind again.

With a large head and small body, it slowly spun in place, fluttering wings that were nearly impossible to see.

"Did this... really come along with me?" Qu Jianlei could hardly believe it.

Xiao Hu spun rather slowly, which did not suit his old habits very well, but he could understand that this was... due to inferior hardware.

What troubled him more was this: what kind of existence was Xiao Hu now? Since he could not figure it out for the moment, he could only feel his way across the river by stepping on stones. At least nothing worse had happened.

How could he make it disappear? Qu Jianlei did not want an image like this constantly lingering in his mind.

The instant that thought arose, the cartoon Butterfly scattered into countless points of starlight, vanishing with astonishing speed.

Qu Jianlei opened his eyes and looked at the crystal in his hand. Sure enough, it had shrunk another circle.

It was now roughly half its original size.

This consumption was truly astonishing... Just as Qu Jianlei sighed, he discovered that his entire body was once again sending him the sensation of "hunger."

Then he could only keep eating Nutrient Solution. With a sigh, he picked up a tube and drank it.

However, it was still not enough! The feeling of hunger remained obvious.

He drank another tube of Nutrient Solution and took a few sips of water. Only then did his body send him a message: full! After that, he performed another set of Eight Section Brocade and Five Animals Play. Once his body felt about right, he resumed meditating.

This time, he followed the latest version of the Nameless Qi Refining Art and circulated qi through three cycles before slowly stopping.

He did not use the crystal because... there was truly not much left. He had to consider the possibility of using it to repair his body.

So he swallowed another two tubes of Nutrient Solution—without the crystal's help, his body's demand for energy was simply too great.

Then he discovered in shock that only seventeen tubes of Nutrient Solution remained!

He helplessly shook his head. The rumors were true—cultivation really was not ordinarily expensive!

Still, no matter what, the results were not bad. At the very least, he now had a cultivation method, and in theory, the crystal could repair his body as well.

Night came, and it was once again time for everyone to gather. Tomorrow was the day to Apply for Antidote.

But this time, Qu Jianlei did not plan to go. He did not even intend to secretly observe from afar.

Whether he could ultimately remove the hidden danger himself or not, he did not want any further contact with Mr. Sai and the others.

If heaven did not wish him dead, then a little danger was no big deal.

Even if there truly was no way to save himself, then... so be it. He would rather die than keep gambling with his life while watching other people's expressions.

Besides, even if he really managed to find the Pink Mecha alive, his chances of surviving in the end would still be minuscule.

As Collins had put it: would they possibly leave witnesses alive?

Qu Jianlei had never lacked decisiveness, nor had he ever feared death. Since he had made up his mind, he truly would not go.

In any case, he still had half a packet of antidote on hand. If he gritted his teeth and endured, there was a good chance he could survive this crisis.

He took another short nap for several hours, then got up to pack his belongings as midnight approached.

Aside from one concealed lethal trap, he packed everything away.

He left that trap behind only as a precautionary backup. It was not aimed at anyone in particular.

The motorcycle started, and he vanished into the wilderness under the cover of night...

(During the new book period, all kinds of support are welcome.)