Trait (Please Follow)

At this moment.

It writhed uneasily, trying to find an exit. Each swing sent ripples spreading across the water in the basin.

The swamp eel occasionally raised its head, its tiny black eyes revealing a trace of confusion and fear.

Stirred by its movements, the water in the sink formed irregular whirlpools, making faint splashing sounds.

Hu Qi recognized at a glance that this was a male swamp eel.

Male swamp eels generally had larger, slightly raised heads, three band-like markings formed by brown spots along their backs, and a stripe along each side of their bodies.

Their pigment spots were evenly distributed, and their bellies were darker in color.

Female eels, meanwhile, had small, unraised heads, no spotted patterns on their backs, and were bluish-brown.

Sometimes, three rows of brown pigment spots could be seen arranged in parallel. From front to back along both sides of the body, their color gradually lightened; the brown spots were even and dense, while their bellies were lighter in color.

The one before him undoubtedly belonged to the former.

Combined with what Li Zhenguo had said.

These two swamp eels should have been a pair.

"Don't be afraid. I'll send you into my stomach soon, so you can go see your wife."

Hu Qi tied an apron around himself.

Then he reached out and grabbed the swamp eel directly.

As if sensing danger, it began twisting violently, raising its head and opening its mouth to bite Hu Qi's palm.

Unlike ordinary toothless swamp eels, this one had a ring of tiny teeth lining both its upper and lower jaws.

Hu Qi remained calm.

The slimy bodily fluid seemed to have no effect on him at all.

Seeing the eel's movements.

He curled his five fingers into hooks, seized its slippery, thick tail, shook his arm, and swung it straight down at the floor.

Bang, bang!

After two blows, its struggles weakened.

Although Hu Qi had never tested his strength, it was certainly far beyond that of an ordinary adult man.

Just a few strikes.

The swamp eel lost all ability to resist. Blood seeped from its head and gills, its body went limp, and it fainted.

Seeing this, he fetched a pair of scissors.

With practiced ease, he slit it open and began cleaning it.

More than half an hour later.

In the living room.

Hu Qi leaned back at the table and let out a satisfied burp.

The plate before him was completely empty. Even the eel bones had been chewed to pieces and devoured clean.

He had just eaten, and now he had eaten another meal.

Even with Hu Qi's appetite, he felt uncomfortably full.

"Crimson!"

He muttered the name inwardly.

Whoosh!

A translucent, illusory panel unfolded before his eyes like a curtain of water.

System Host: Hu Qi

Status: Normal

Age: 21 (59 years of Lifespan remaining)

Skills: Comprehensive Combat Technique (Proficient) △

Nourishing Origin Breathing Method (Mastered)

...

Modification Points: 5 (89%)

The Modification Points on the panel had reached 5.

By comparison.

This swamp eel had provided him with over 3 Modification Points.

Perhaps because it was larger.

Without hesitation.

Hu Qi focused his gaze on the triangular rune after Comprehensive Combat Technique.

"Crimson, modify Comprehensive Combat Technique and raise it to Mastered!"

As his words fell.

The Modification Points began to decrease. At the same time.

The word Proficient after Comprehensive Combat Technique blurred and became Accomplished, then immediately changed again to Mastered.

The familiar memories of combat scenes and the cool current strengthening his body appeared once more.

Hu Qi carefully digested it all.

After a long while, he came back to himself.

His gaze fell upon the panel.

----

Comprehensive Combat Technique (Mastered) Trait: Coordination

...

Modification Points: 1 (89%)

"Four Modification Points used?"

Hu Qi was speechless. He had only just painstakingly accumulated 5 Modification Points, and they had nearly been emptied in one go.

Still, it was worth it.

After all, a bird in the hand was worth more than a thousand in the forest.

And besides.

After Comprehensive Combat Technique reached the Mastered realm, it had awakened a trait called Coordination.

At that thought.

Suddenly.

He raised a hand, shaped it into a claw, and grabbed forward!

Whoosh!

In an instant, his hand shot out like an afterimage, flashing through the air before retracting.

He opened his five fingers.

Two squashed, crushed mosquitoes lay quietly in his palm.

"My reaction speed seems a little faster than before, but it's still within the range of an ordinary person."

Hu Qi sensed the changes in his body.

And made his judgment.

Coordination, as the name implied.

It referred to the ability of every part of the body to cooperate and work in sync during movement or while carrying out actions.

Good bodily coordination meant being able to smoothly, accurately, and efficiently complete all kinds of complex movements and tasks.

For example, walking, running, jumping, throwing, dancing, and the various technical movements used in sports.

It involved the nervous system's precise control and regulation of the muscles, including the order, force, and duration of muscle contractions.

At this moment, he felt better than ever before.

Just as he was about to stand up.

A faint sensation of hunger suddenly came from his abdomen.

"Hm?"

Hu Qi's expression turned strange.

He reached out and touched his stomach.

His belly, which had been slightly swollen, had somehow deflated.

"Could it be because I modified Comprehensive Combat Technique to Mastered all at once?"

Hu Qi raised his brows, somewhat surprised.

Perhaps it was because he had raised it to Mastered in one go and awakened the Coordination trait.

As for whether that was really the case.

For now, it was the only explanation that made sense. He could test it again when he had the chance.

With that thought.

He took several chocolate bars he had bought earlier from the drawer, tore open the wrappers, and began chewing them.

The night passed in a hurry.

The next day, as the first light of dawn appeared, Hu Qi got out of bed early.

However, he took a day off from the Red Scale Club today and did not go there.

Because Hu Qi needed to verify the source of the Modification Points.

He slaughtered the swamp eels he had bought from the market and carefully cooked them into a plate of braised swamp eel.

Then he picked up a piece and placed it in his mouth.

Next, he stared at the panel.

Just as expected.

There was no movement in the Modification Points section.

"As expected, the cooking method and steps were exactly the same, yet no Modification Points appeared.

Clearly, ordinary swamp eels simply cannot provide me with Modification Points.

It can only be because of Exotic Beasts."

Hu Qi muttered to himself.

He picked up his phone, opened the browser, and began searching for information about Exotic Beasts.

Before long, results appeared one after another.

He automatically ignored and filtered out content from films and novels.

Then he looked through the useful entries.

The first thing introduced was what Exotic Beasts were.

Exotic Beasts referred to animals with strange, rare, or uncommon appearances.

For example, rare species with distinctive appearances that existed only in certain regions or environments, or animals whose appearances or habits were unusually distinctive due to genetic mutations and other reasons.

This information was no different from what Hu Qi had previously learned.

At most, these Exotic Beasts differed somewhat in appearance and size; they had no special abilities.

Rather than Exotic Beasts, it would be more accurate to call them genetically mutated creatures.

His gaze moved downward.

There were news reports about Exotic Beasts.