A Failed Attempt

Lingquan City only has one Abyss Rift, located on the edge of the old industrial zone to the east of the city.

As the destination approached, the number of ordinary people on the bus visibly decreased, replaced by more and more Martial Artists carrying sabers, swords, and various other weapons.

Li Wei sat there, feeling uneasy, constantly aware of many undisguised gazes sweeping over her.

Especially a muscular man diagonally in front of her, carrying a large saber. His gaze, tsk, was like he was looking at prey, filled with naked desire.

Li Wei glared at him with annoyance.

He seemed even more excited. He deliberately puffed out his chest muscles, raised his right hand, pointed to the Two-Star Martial Artist badge pinned to his chest, and raised his eyebrows, looking extremely smug.

Li Wei rolled her eyes internally. He's just a Second-Tier Martial Artist... Look at him.

With that big beard, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes could catch mosquitoes. He had to be at least forty, right?

A forty-year-old Second-Tier? Is that something to be proud of?

As if sensing Li Wei's poorly concealed disdain, the muscular man's face darkened, and he suddenly wanted to lunge forward.

Li Wei's body instantly tensed, her jade-like forearms crossing defensively in front of her chest.

"Enough."

Someone stopped the muscular man.

Saying that, a young man with a scar on his face squeezed through. He scanned Li Wei up and down, but his eyes held no malice. Instead, there was a hint of...

Envy? Admiration?

"Captain?" the muscular man asked, unconvinced, but he didn't dare to defy him.

The scarred youth lightly kicked his shin and said, not too loudly, but just loud enough for those around to hear:

"Stop causing trouble! Her Vitality is at least seventy, her Muscles and Bones Ringing in Harmony, and she's a top student from a proper Martial Arts University. What are you trying to do?"

As soon as he said this, the carriage buzzed, then fell into an eerie silence.

Those gazes that had been so brazen moments ago all retracted sharply. Everyone either looked out the window or at the floor, pretending to be model citizens.

Li Wei's lips twitched. How did he figure that out?

But her body relaxed. At least the trouble was resolved, and she didn't have to exert herself.

She hadn't expected that a single stat point allocation would bring such a significant change to her life.

By the time the bus reached its stop, no one was looking at her strangely anymore.

Li Wei enjoyed the peace and quiet. She got off the bus and followed the crowd towards the Rift entrance.

There was only one public, open Rift in Lingquan City. There were simply too many Martial Artists, along with vendors and onlookers, creating a massive crowd, like a festival.

Li Wei wasn't a formal Martial Artist, so she couldn't enter and didn't need to queue.

She weaved through the crowd, finally managing to get closer to the entrance checkpoint, and found a corner to crouch in.

System, it's up to you. Give me some Essence...

Two hours passed...

"Little sister, all alone? Want to go out and play with me?" Another greasy Martial Artist came over to chat her up.

Li Wei couldn't even be bothered to lift her eyelids. "No, thank you."

This was already the eighth one!

She gradually realized that standing there, in her black dress and with her fair skin and eye-catching face, she was like...

"Damn it!" Li Wei cursed under her breath and quickly slipped away.

The Martial Artist profession, lots of money, high pressure, and abundant energy. Standing there like a streetwalker, how could she not be harassed?

Getting back on the bus heading home, Li Wei looked at the unmoving [Abyss Essence: 17] on her status panel, feeling dejected.

At this moment, a news report suddenly appeared on the car's display screen behind the driver's seat.

[At 1:53 AM today, our city's Abyss energy monitoring station detected high-intensity abnormal fluctuations. Analysis confirmed it was..., located in Baihuai District...]

[The Lingquan City Rift Investigation Bureau's action team responded immediately...]

The screen cut to a uniformed middle-aged man, with a pile of microphones shoved in his face.

["...The sooner we arrive, the less danger the citizens face..."]

[In this operation, we deployed... We killed one Sixth-Tier Abyssal Monster and fifteen Fourth-Tier Abyssal Monsters... Our side sustained no major casualties..."]

Li Wei's eyes suddenly lit up.

"It's true! The timing matches!" she exclaimed in her mind. " [Abyss Essence] is indeed related to Abyssal Monsters! That ambulance last night must have been carrying injured personnel from the Investigation Bureau from this operation!"

Her thoughts immediately became clear: "Most likely, you have to kill the Abyssal Monster to 'drop' Essence! And the Essence can 'stick' to nearby people? Otherwise, that black light last night can't be explained! They wouldn't carry the Abyssal Monster onto the ambulance!"

"But..." A new problem arose. "I waited at the Rift entrance for two hours just now, and at least several hundred Martial Artists came out after fighting. Why didn't I absorb any Essence? Is there a time limit? Or some other reason?"

Thinking of this, she quickly took out her broken phone with a cracked screen and opened the human-AI assistant named "Lingzhi," her fingers flying across the keyboard.

Me: What procedures must a Martial Artist go through after emerging from a Rift?

Lingzhi: [Rift Personnel Evacuation Standard Procedure V3.7]... (a long list)... Mandatory purification and disinfection (standard duration 4 hours)...

Li Wei scrolled through the screen, her eyes fixed on the words "four-hour disinfection."

"Could it be a matter of time and disinfection?" she mused. "If the Investigation Bureau personnel were injured, they'd definitely be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Where would they have time for four hours of disinfection?"

"As for live Abyssal Monsters..." She recalled the special trucks she saw outside the Rift entrance earlier. "I don't need to go to the Abyssal Monster Observation Park in the north of the city anymore. Those trucks carrying live Abyssal Monsters were less than five meters away from me, and the System didn't react at all."

"So, I'll try going to the Investigation Bureau's entrance again and see if their people are any different."

At three in the afternoon, Li Wei, dragging her tired body, picked up Li Cheng from Grandma Wang's place and brought him back to the small attic.

It was very obvious that going to the Investigation Bureau's entrance yielded no results, and she was almost arrested as a suspicious element.

However, at least a few incorrect options were eliminated, and now two points could be basically confirmed:

1. Abyssal Monsters likely need to be killed to "drop" Essence. 2. The retention of Essence is either time-limited or has other conditions, such as the "disinfection" process destroying it.

Alright, next step, find a place and kill an Abyssal Monster to test it.

Li Cheng, seeing her listless appearance, weakly asked, "What's wrong, didn't get your previous life's opportunity?"

"..." Li Wei ignored him, carried him to her bed, and they lay side by side, staring blankly at the various shades of mold on the ceiling.

After a while, Li Wei suddenly spoke, "Do you think there's any place... where someone who isn't a Martial Artist can kill Abyssal Monsters?"

She was thinking, Muscles and Bones Ringing in Harmony sounded impressive, but it was just considered an ordinary genius.

What if she could quickly reach Minor Perfection, or even Great Perfection?

With the title of "Unrivaled Prodigy," would some major power or influential figure be willing to invest in her early and save Li Cheng's life in the process?

Unfortunately, Li Cheng's answer dashed her wishful thinking.

"You're dreaming..." he said, taking a breath, his subsequent words somewhat weak. "Unless you go to the Western Frontier Death Line, where the main force is an army composed of ordinary people."

Li Wei was stunned and found the corresponding information in her memory.

Xifeng Pass · Abyss Rift, one of the largest Rifts globally, capable of spawning even Ninth Order Abyssal Monsters, has always been jointly defended by China and the Arctic Alliance.

More than thirty years ago, for some unknown reason, the Rift was suddenly breached, and a massive number of Abyssal Monsters poured out.

To buy time for the defense line to regroup, China and the Arctic Alliance dropped over twenty "Dongfeng" and "RS" missiles at the Rift entrance.

Even the White Eagle Federation joined the fray, having strategic nuclear submarines cruising in the Indian Ocean assist by firing four "Tridents" successively.

Dozens of nuclear warheads of various sizes bombarded the area for a full day before humanity could re-establish its defense line.

However, the original Rift entrance could no longer be reclaimed. China and the Arctic Alliance, under the cover of their top powerhouses, built a continuous chain of fortress clusters around the Rift. They advanced by gradually encroaching, engaging in a tug-of-war for over thirty years, with countless lives lost, which is why it's called the "Death Line."

Li Wei recalled the video clips she had seen online before, with overwhelming monsters and world-destroying scenes...

If all of that could become my [Abyss Essence], slurp—!

She was about to drool...

What a pity, joining the army also requires physical examinations, background checks, and going through procedures. By the time she got to the Western Frontier, it would be too late.

Li Cheng... couldn't wait that long.

She once again took out her battle-worn phone, opened her contacts, and stared blankly.