The Tenth Aperture!

You returned to the hospital and continued receiving blood transfusions (03:01)

You fell unconscious (03:03)

After waking up, you ate a ham in the hospital kitchen and left behind 300 yuan (05:32)

You bypassed surveillance cameras all the way to South Ring Road outside the Martial Arts Bureau and called Wei Sijian (06:40)

You asked him for a Heart Protection Pill, a Spirit Awakening Pill, and a Heaven-Returning Grass (06:42)

Wei Sijian refused your request (06:43)

You gave him a modified recipe for the Qi Condensing Potion (06:44)

Wei Sijian agreed to your request and wanted to become your sworn younger brother (06:45)

Wei Sijian gave you a Heart Protection Pill, a Spirit Awakening Pill, and a Heaven-Returning Grass (06:54)

Following the directions on a map left behind by the Scavengers, you traveled through the sewers to the northwestern edge of Jing City's walls (Note 1) (07:45)

...

Shen Qian's pupils suddenly contracted when he saw this.

Jing City's outskirts were surrounded by towering walls. Not only that, the walls were protected by electric grids. As for the world beyond the city, Shen Qian had only seen it once, during the migration from Lucheng to Jing City all those years ago.

But he had been too young then and barely remembered any of it.

At least as far as Shen Qian knew, most cities in China enforced city lockdowns. Ordinary people simply could not leave the city.

The system had brought him to the city's edge. Could it be that...

And the Scavengers' belongings were most likely spoils from those he had killed, yet he had not seen them when he woke up.

You consumed the Heart Protection Pill and Spirit Awakening Pill (07:46)

You passed through a damaged section of the northwestern city wall during the city guards' shift change and arrived outside the city (07:55)

Your arm was cut by the violent Gale Force Winds (07:56)

You traveled 4,736 meters northwest (07:59)

You found a Z-Class Iron Eater Beast lurking here (08:00)

You fought the Iron Eater Beast for three minutes and drove it back (08:03) (Click to extract Combat Experience)

You suffered extremely severe injuries and were on the verge of death (08:04)

You consumed Heaven-Returning Grass, stimulating your life potential (08:05)

You successfully used the Gate of Life and Death to open the tenth aperture, the Shenque Aperture (08:10) (Note 2)

...

After reading this passage, Shen Qian remained unable to recover his senses for a long while.

Not only had he broken through the blockade and entered the world outside, he had also fought a Z-Class Iron Eater Beast for three whole minutes...

Although Shen Qian had no idea what kind of beast an Iron Eater Beast was, nor what level Z-Class represented, the fact that even his system-controlled self had been pushed to the brink of death showed just how powerful it was.

Even low-ranking Beginner Martial Artists might not be that strong.

But what shocked Shen Qian most was that the system had actually helped him open the tenth aperture!

Ten apertures!

There was actually a tenth aperture in this world.

If he remembered correctly, the Shenque acupoint was located at the navel.

With that thought, Shen Qian skipped past the part about how he had returned to the city and fallen unconscious again in the hospital to recover, then scrolled to the bottom.

There were two notes in the AFK Record.

"Note 1: You killed four Scavengers and looted the spoils. You buried all the spoils beneath the fourth peach tree from the left in the back garden of 998 Special Hospital."

"Note 2: The Shenque Aperture is also known as the Aperture of Life. According to the system's calculations, after opening nine apertures, it becomes possible to open a tenth aperture and attain true perfection."

Sure enough, it was more or less what he had guessed. The so-called tenth aperture was entirely the result of the system perfecting the method. He did not know whether a second person who had opened ten apertures could even be found in this world.

But Shen Qian estimated that the chances were slim. Starting from the seventh aperture, opening each one required harsh conditions and was as difficult as ascending to heaven. The tenth aperture had to be opened at the boundary between life and death, something beyond human capability.

He also had no idea what his physical condition was like after opening ten apertures. Unfortunately, he was badly injured right now and could not muster any strength at all, leaving him unable to sense it.

Creak!

At that moment, the ward door opened. A doctor in a white coat walked in with two nurses, followed by Shen Qian's mother, Wang Xiaojuan, Police Warrior Song Ye, and Ding Yi at the very end.

The doctor examined Shen Qian first, then said in surprise, "Such vigorous vitality. It's practically comparable to that of a martial artist. At this rate, you may be discharged in less than a week."

Everyone reacted differently to those words.

Song Ye was puzzled. Had the doctor misspoken? Wasn't he already a martial artist?

Ding Yi, meanwhile, was somewhat disappointed, though she hid it well in the depths of her eyes.

As for Wang Xiaojuan, she did not care about such details at all. Hearing that he would be discharged soon, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly thanked the doctor while holding onto him.

After the doctor left, Song Ye stopped Wang Xiaojuan, who was about to step forward. He pulled over a chair, sat down in front of Shen Qian, and activated the recording function on his wristband.

"Student Shen Qian, this is now an official inquiry. Can you tell me what happened during the time you were missing?"

"I... actually, I can't remember many things. When I woke up, I was in a garden at 998 Special Hospital, covered in blood. I don't know what happened to the wound on my back either."

Having not figured out how to make something up, Shen Qian could only answer like this.

Besides, he had been missing for seven days. If he tried to fabricate a story, it would certainly be full of holes. It was better to pretend he knew nothing.

Song Ye frowned. "Then why did you go to Tongxinyuan Hotel that day?"

Shen Qian sharply noticed that Ding Yi's chin lifted slightly.

This question was indeed not easy to explain, but thanks to the Obsidian Spirit Stone improving his intelligence recently, Shen Qian's thoughts were exceptionally quick. He soon came up with an excuse.

"I wanted to take a Body Tempering Potion somewhere quiet, so I booked a hotel online. Tongxinyuan happened to be relatively cheap, so..."

"A Body Tempering Potion?" Song Ye asked in confusion.

"Oh, I got it through a discreet channel. It wasn't one of the common brands on the market. You can verify that with my classmates, such as Wang Yangming or Lin Xiaoqian," Shen Qian explained.

Song Ye nodded and asked, "Student Huo Ling'er said that when you left the hotel that night, you went to see her, and that you also... behaved somewhat strangely?"

Ding Yi's chin lifted even higher.

Shen Qian's head hurt.

He weighed it for one second, then decisively chose to throw Huo Ling'er under the bus. In any case, such details did not really affect anything, and Song Ye would not care.

"It was like this. Junior Huo Ling'er has always, well... admired me somewhat. I went to see her that night to make things clear, to tell her to study hard and not start dating too early," Shen Qian said righteously.

Sure enough, Song Ye merely gave Shen Qian a surprised look and did not press further about who had confessed.

Song Ye continued questioning Shen Qian, but Shen Qian claimed that after parting with Huo Ling'er, he had been knocked unconscious in an alley. He knew nothing about what happened afterward, only vaguely implying that it might have been related to the Scavengers.

After asking a few more questions and still getting nowhere, Song Ye could only give up helplessly. After giving Shen Qian a deep look, he closed the missing-person case.

This case had not been under his jurisdiction to begin with. He had only come here out of personal interest in Shen Qian.

After Song Ye left, Ding Yi also departed soon afterward. She did not say a single word to Shen Qian throughout, only greeting Wang Xiaojuan.

Watching Ding Yi's tall figure disappear through the ward door, Shen Qian could only smile bitterly.

He knew Ding Yi doubted his story. Even if she believed him, the fact that she had not known about Huo Ling'er beforehand was itself the biggest problem.

But Shen Qian, lacking experience, had no solution. He could only wait until he was discharged to find a chance to explain. Hopefully, Ding Yi would not have left by then.

Ten apertures... was it worth nearly dying for?

Shen Qian's thoughts drifted. He was already eager to leave the hospital and test it out.

New author begging for recommendation votes, gentlemen!