First Exploration of Abilities

In the locker room on the second floor of the abandoned gymnasium.

A heavy scent of dust mixed with mildew, and a faint trace of rust, permeated the narrow space.

It had been abandoned for many years. The dilapidated blue metal lockers stood askew, some with doors missing, revealing dark, empty interiors.

A few weak rays of moonlight slanted in through a hole in a window high up, barely illuminating a small patch of the messy floor.

Lin Xiao leaned against a relatively intact locker, his back pressed against the cold metal, gasping for breath.

Every breath sent a searing pain through his chest and abdomen, causing fine beads of cold sweat to form on his forehead.

His right arm felt as if it were being repeatedly pierced by countless red-hot steel needles. The slightest movement sent him into a dizzying darkness.

Fatty Wang had already run back to get medicine.

Lin Xiao hadn't let him take him to the infirmary—it was too conspicuous.

The matter with Zhao Hu wasn't over. That vindictive guy wouldn't let it go once he woke up.

The most important thing now was to hide, recover, and figure out what that damn thing in his head was!

He managed to lift his still-functional left hand, wiping away the half-dried blood and oil stains from his face, revealing a pair of eyes that shone astonishingly in the dim light.

Excitement! A thrill coursing through his veins like lava, almost overshadowing the physical agony!

Everything that had happened at the cafeteria entrance was seared into his mind.

Zhao Hu's arrogant fist, that mountain-crushing kick, then the bizarre, eerie blue screen, the scarlet cross, a mere thought, and the powerful enemy crippled himself!

"Martial Arts Modifier..."

Lin Xiao silently repeated the name in his heart, his own heart pounding uncontrollably.

An almost trembling ecstasy seized him!

This wasn't a dream! He truly possessed this... almost god-like power!

Greed burned in his eyes.

With this, Lin Xiao's life would be completely different!

Forget those damned tuition payment notices! Forget that damned Zhao Hu!

Forget that damned struggle at the bottom!

He saw the possibility of breaking free from all these constraints, even climbing higher!

Su Qingxue's cool and noble face flashed before his eyes, quickly replaced by a stronger craving for power.

Power was fundamental!

However, the instinctual vigilance honed by years of street brawling poured over his boiling greed like ice water.

This power was too strange, too terrifying!

Where did it come from? Why did it choose him?

What price would he have to pay to use it?

What were these "Source Energy Points" mentioned by that cold notification sound?

What could 1.5 points even do?

Countless questions and deeply buried apprehension intertwined in Lin Xiao's mind, making him tremble with excitement yet feel uneasy.

"I have to figure this out!"

He gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain, and forced himself to concentrate.

Hummm...

As soon as the thought arose, that cold, rational, blue-glowing rectangular screen reappeared silently in the depths of his consciousness, as if summoned.

[Martial Arts Modifier - Core Status]

[Host: Lin Xiao]

[Vital Signs: Moderate Damage (Multiple soft tissue contusions, right arm fracture)]

[Current Source Energy Points: 1.5]

The information on the screen was concise and clear.

Lin Xiao's gaze was fixed on the line that read "Current Source Energy Points: 1.5".

1.5 points, this was the "power currency" he had obtained after his desperate comeback.

How to use it?

He subconsciously focused his thoughts on the screen, trying to find a way to operate it.

The screen seemed to sense his intention, fluctuating almost imperceptibly.

At the bottom of the screen, among several previously blurry and dim areas, a small gear-like icon faintly glowed with an almost imperceptible light.

[Function Module: Basic Modification (Unlocked)]

Basic Modification?

Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

He tried to "touch" the illuminated gear icon with his mind.

The image in the center of the light screen instantly switched!

A three-dimensional human silhouette, composed of countless extremely fine, complex, interwoven lines flickering with different colored micro-lights, appeared!

The shape and proportions of the silhouette were exactly Lin Xiao's own!

However, on this "Lin Xiao" image, multiple areas were covered in a dim, gray-red light representing damage. Especially on his right arm and chest, the light was deep red like blood, and he could even "see" subtle cracks on the bones!

[Target Locked: Lin Xiao (Self)]
[Scanning Modifiable Items...]

A cold prompt echoed in his mind.

Lin Xiao held his breath, staring intently at the image representing his own damaged state.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning—restore!

If he could modify his own injuries and accelerate their healing.

This thought was like a devil's temptation, making him instantly excited!

He endured the intense pain in his body, concentrated all his mental energy, and his will, like invisible tentacles, carefully reached out towards the three-dimensional silhouette representing "self" on the light screen.

Then, he tried to "grab" a relatively dim gray-red area representing the contusion on his chest.

The moment his will touched it, the gray-red light in that area flickered violently!

At the same time, a new line of prompts appeared next to it:

[Modification Target: Local tissue cell activity (Chest Contusion Area)]
[Modification Direction: Enhance activity, accelerate recovery (Estimated Effect: Slightly shorten natural healing time)]
[Required Source Energy Points: 0.3]

0.3 points!

Lin Xiao's heart pounded wildly!

There was hope! He could actually modify himself!

A huge temptation lay before him.

The burning, dull pain in his chest constantly reminded him.

Moreover, 0.3 points was something he could afford to spend!

"Modify! Accelerate my recovery!"

Lin Xiao roared in his mind, his will fiercely "confirming"!

[Command Received... Deducting Source Energy Points: 0.3...]
[Modifying Parameters... 1%... 100%... Modification Complete.]

The moment the cold prompt ended!

Buzz!

A strange, indescribable coolness, like the finest current, precisely flowed into the contused area of Lin Xiao's chest!

The sensation was very weak, nowhere near the dramatic transformation described in novels, but Lin Xiao clearly felt that the area that had been continuously burning and aching seemed to have been infused with a faint vitality!

The pain lessened by a tiny, perceptible amount, and his breathing even seemed to become a little smoother!

It worked! Although the effect was weak and far from instant healing, it was undeniably effective!

"Hahaha!"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but laugh wildly in his mind, immense joy surging through his nerves!

This ability was too heaven-defying!

It meant that as long as he had enough Source Energy Points, he possessed the prerequisite for near-invincibility!

Overjoyed, his greedy gaze immediately shifted to the most glaring deep red area on the light screen—the location of the fractured right arm! If he could directly repair the bone.

He eagerly extended his will towards it!

[Modification Target: Right Radial Bone Fracture]
[Modification Direction: Accelerate bone cell division, promote healing (Estimated Effect: Significantly shorten healing period)]
[Required Source Energy Points: 3.0]

3.0?

The ecstatic joy on Lin Xiao's face instantly froze!

Current Source Energy Points: 1.5 - 0.3 = 1.2 points! Far from enough!

A wave of immense disappointment washed over him, like being doused with a basin of cold water.

He then realized how precious Source Energy Points were, and the cost of repairing his severe injuries was far greater than he had imagined!

"Damn it!"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but curse under his breath, slamming his left fist hard into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The excitement receded like a tide, leaving behind a suffocating feeling of being choked by reality and an unprecedented craving for Source Energy Points.

His gaze swept subconsciously around the dim locker room, finally settling on a corner.

There lay a tattered old sandbag.

The canvas surface was so worn that its original color was indistinguishable, covered in rips and stains. Much of the sand and sawdust filling it had leaked from the holes, and it sagged limply on the ground, like discarded trash.

Can the sandbag be modified?

A thought uncontrollably surfaced.

Since he could modify himself, what about external objects?

What could this broken sandbag be changed into?

Intense curiosity and the unwillingness to accept the blow from the points needed for his bone fracture spurred Lin Xiao on.

He struggled, propping himself up with his left hand, dragging his aching body, and laboriously moving to the side of the old sandbag.

He reached out his left hand, touching the rough, cold, dust-covered surface of the sandbag.

Concentrating, he mentally communicated with the light screen in his mind again.

This time, he tried to focus his intent on the physical sandbag before him.

Hum...

The 3D human silhouette in the center of the light screen instantly disappeared, replaced by a blurry outline of the sandbag, sketched with simple lines.

Inside the outline, there were no complex energy flows, only dim, almost gray lines representing basic attributes like "structure," "material," and "durability."

[Target Locked: Unknown Material Filling Bag (Worn)]
[Scanning modifiable items...]
[Modifiable Item: Structural Integrity (Durability)]

Found it!

Lin Xiao's spirits lifted.

Durability, what happens if I change it to "indestructible"?

Or "shatters at a touch"?

He chose the latter.

A mischievous desire to destroy and a testing mentality surged within him.

He locked his intent onto the gray line representing "durability" and attempted to "drag" its value fiercely in the direction of "fragility"!

[Modification Target: Structural Integrity (Durability)]
[Modification Direction: Significantly reduce molecular bond strength (Estimated Effect: Structural Collapse)]
[Required Source Energy Points: 0.1]

Only 0.1 points! So cheap!

Lin Xiao didn't hesitate: "Confirm modification!"

[Command received... Deducting Source Energy Points: 0.1...]
[Modifying parameters... 1%... 100%... Modification complete.]

The moment the prompt sounded, the worn sandbag that Lin Xiao's left hand was touching seemed unchanged?

He frowned in confusion, subconsciously using his finger to gently poke a small existing rip on the sandbag's surface.

The instant his fingertip touched the edge of the rip in the canvas.

A sudden change occurred!

Without any warning!

The old sandbag, which had only slightly worn edges and a small rip, seemed to have all its supporting internal strength instantly drained!

Every canvas fiber, every grain of filling sand that constituted it, the most basic connection within them that maintained their "existence," was brutally and completely severed by a cold force originating from the rules!

"Pfft—!"

A muffled, strange light sound!

Under Lin Xiao's astonished gaze, the small area his fingertip touched, like a water surface disturbed by a thrown stone, suddenly caved inward!

But this collapse was not physical compression; it was disintegration!

Centered on his fingertip, the canvas on the sandbag's surface, like burnt-out ashes, silently turned to powder!

Following that, the filling!

The hard sand and rough sawdust, without scattering or flying, lost all form and cohesion at the same instant, directly decomposing into the finest, most primitive dust particles!

It was as if an invisible hand, at a microscopic level, had instantly erased the "concept" of the sandbag's existence!

The entire process was unbelievably fast, silent, yet carried a chilling, uncanny strangeness!

In less than a tenth of a breath!

Before Lin Xiao's eyes, the dilapidated sandbag, which had been half his height, had completely vanished!

All that remained in its place was a small pile of extremely fine, uniform, ash-white dust with no sharp edges!

This dust lay quietly on the ground, emitting a deathly pale stillness under the dim moonlight.

As if it had never existed.

The changing room was deathly silent.

Lin Xiao's hand was still frozen in mid-air, his fingertips retaining a slight, slippery powdery touch.

The expression on his face had completely solidified, his eyes wide open, his mouth slightly agape, as if an egg could fit inside.

A chill, from the base of his spine along his spine, instantly shot up to the crown of his head!

Not an explosion, not a shattering, but a complete erasure from the material level?

This effect was too terrifying! Too uncontrollable!

He had only intended for it to "shatter on touch," to turn into a pile of sand!

But it had directly turned into dust! Had even its molecular structure been broken down?

The Modifier was more overbearing, and more dangerous, than he had imagined!

Ecstasy and lingering fear were replaced by a deeper sense of dread.

He looked down at his dust-covered left hand, then at the pile of dust on the ground representing "annihilation," a strong chill enveloping him.

Could this thing really be used so casually?

Would modifying himself also cause problems?

The cool sensation he felt when modifying his recovery speed now felt chillingly terrifying.

He abruptly brought up the light screen in his mind:

[Current Source Energy Points: 1.2 - 0.1 = 1.1]

Two modifications, one for self-recovery (0.3) and one for the sandbag's erasure (0.1), and his 1.5 Source Energy Points had instantly dwindled to 1.1! Meanwhile, repairing his fractured bone required 3.0 points!

A massive expenditure!

Source Energy Points! This was the core!

Without it, this heaven-defying Modifier was just a decoration!

How could he acquire more? Besides "combat settlement" and "first effective interference" like he did with Zhao Hu, were there any other ways?

Absorbing energy? What kind of energy?

Spirit stones? Or something else?

Countless questions coiled around him like vines.

The ecstasy of power was replaced by the cold shackles of reality and a vast mystery.

Just then.

"Scrape..."

An extremely faint scraping sound, almost absorbed by the dust, came from outside the changing room, from the dark corridor leading to the stairs.

Lin Xiao's muscles tensed instantly!

Like a startled leopard!

He abruptly raised his head, his vigilance, which had relaxed while studying the Modifier, instantly heightened to its peak!

His eyes, shining astonishingly in the dim light, like searchlights, fixed intently and warily on the darkness where the sound originated!

Was someone there?

Had Zhao Hu's people found him?

Or was it something else?

Outside the broken window on the second floor of the abandoned gymnasium, a blurry black figure, like a bat blending into the night, silently clung to the shadowed exterior of the dusty, cobweb-covered window frame.

A monocular lens, covered with a special film that barely reflected light, was aimed in the direction of Lin Xiao inside the changing room.

Behind the lens, a pair of cold, emotionless eyes were clearly "seeing" everything that was happening inside through the broken opening.

When the cold eyes saw the dilapidated sandbag silently turn to dust under Lin Xiao's fingertip touch, the pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

A trace of extremely subtle fluctuation, tinged with shock and greed, flashed and vanished on the black figure.

He slowly lowered the lens, his body like weightless smoke, silently melting into the deeper darkness outside the gymnasium, disappearing.