Racing Against Time

"Whoa, the auxiliary abilities are also quite outstanding..."

As he followed the team forward, Tao Yu focused his attention on some of the surrounding plants and flowers, instinctively gaining a certain level of understanding about them.

There were no written descriptions or visual cues, but the information he received allowed him to grasp the general characteristics of these plants. He could tell if they were edible, poisonous, or if they had any healing effects for his current physical condition – simple pieces of information.

Although the information wasn't extensive, Tao Yu felt it was more than enough. It undoubtedly made his existing knowledge more effective and would keep him safer in external environments.

He could even detect if someone had poisoned him.

What more could he ask for from a skill obtained through Deification with fifty units of Wish Power?

With potential future enhancements or increased skill proficiency, he might even achieve better results.

Feeling the pressure from the discovery of the Facehugger, Tao Yu asked Zhang Wei for some of the dried snake meat he had earlier. He walked with the team, chewing on the meat, and began to accelerate the proficiency of his Basic Breathing Technique (Modified)!

Wish Power acceleration usually targeted a single skill.

If one had the ability to multitask, multiple skills could be accelerated simultaneously, but it would consume more Wish Power. It wouldn't save on the Wish Power cost, only a bit of time.

However, Tao Yu wasn't concerned about that right now. He maintained the rhythm of his breathing, accelerating the practice of Basic Breathing Technique (Modified), while continuously chewing on the dried snake meat.

His Blood Essence churned within him, circulating throughout his body. With each circulation, he felt a slight reinforcement, a tangible effect with every pass!

While chewing, he would also practice shooting a few times, increasing the proficiency of Basic Shooting - Enhanced.

"Bullet Time enhanced the boost from Dynamic Vision, and the proficiency increase for shooting practice is much faster than breathing. No wonder talent determines everything for most people..."

Even though Tao Yu was only casually taking a few shots at nearby leaves and branches, and most of his Wish Power acceleration was dedicated to his breathing technique, his shooting ability was improving at a faster rate!

Da da da~

A three-round burst hit the base of a tree branch thirty meters away, causing splinters to fly. The branch snapped and fell.

"Not bad. As expected of B-rank Dynamic Vision. What multiplier did you choose for acceleration? You're already at Lv2, right? Combined with your talent, that's more than enough."

Li Le's sequence in the team was similar to Tao Yu's, and their positions were close, just ahead of Walter, who was responsible for covering their rear. Seeing Tao Yu chew dried snake meat while firing, Li Le showed some surprise.

Looking at the leftover meat fibers in Tao Yu's mouth, Li Le continued, "You're still practicing your breathing technique, aren't you? Basic Breathing Technique?"

Tao Yu swallowed the snake meat in his mouth and replied calmly, "What can I do? I don't have a family like yours, Brother Li. If I don't take advantage of the abundant meat now, what will I eat when I go back?"

The current fragment area was "rich in meat," which was actually a benefit. If he were to return, besides the food he brought back, buying meat in the Outer City's settlements would cost two Wish Power per jin, which was outrageously expensive.

Private transactions carried the risk of having his cannon fodder points reset, and he might even encounter entrapment tactics. There was no need to take such risks.

As he spoke, Tao Yu quickly walked over to a nearby bush, broke off a sugarcane-like plant stalk, and began sucking on it.

Replenishing his water and sugar.

"Do we have information on this plant? You're really bold."

Li Le looked at Tao Yu's actions with further surprise. He even doubted if Tao Yu was practicing the Basic Breathing Technique.

He himself had mastered the Knight's Breathing Technique brought from the Inner City by his family. However, such non-basic breathing techniques were extremely rare in the Outer City; there was nowhere to learn them, and Tao Hu probably didn't have it either.

"My backpack was eaten by a giant snake when I came here. I was desperate for water and tried it. It's quite good."

If he hadn't Deificated all his auxiliary abilities, Tao Yu wouldn't dare to eat or drink indiscriminately. But now, it felt much simpler.

This plant, resembling both sugarcane and bamboo, was crisp when bitten, and he could directly absorb the juice. It had a very high water content.

Stepping on the thick fallen leaves and soil, Tao Yu didn't waste a single second.

He knew that his frantic breathing practice might look strange and could attract some attention.

But the Inner City had superior breathing techniques and related skills, so they wouldn't care much about these. He couldn't hesitate because of their gazes; he couldn't let minor setbacks prevent progress!

Facehuggers had already appeared. Besides Deificating his skills, he had to increase his practice speed as quickly as possible!

For both Basic Shooting - Enhanced and Basic Breathing Technique (Modified), he was investing at a rate of one hundred units of Wish Power per hour for acceleration.

The only difference was that Basic Shooting - Enhanced wasn't practiced continuously; it was intermittent, consuming less than a tenth of the Basic Breathing Technique (Modified), which was maintained constantly.

It was a bit regrettable that his physical condition was too poor at the beginning, during the golden period for breathing techniques. Although he only spent five hours per hour with a ten-point increase back then, the effect was significant, bringing him to the standard of an amateur athlete in all aspects.

Now, despite the tenfold increase in consumption per hour, due to the reduced training effect of the breathing technique itself and the decrease in the acceleration multiplier as his strength increased, Tao Yu didn't feel like he was transforming every moment.

The marginal effect was severe.

After all, the description of Basic Breathing Technique (Modified) was just "can increase physical limits to a certain extent." It was naturally much better than the non-Deificated breathing technique, but not exaggeratedly so. The main boost was still in the active Blood Essence burst.

At this rate of increase, Tao Yu estimated that by the time he used up all the Wish Power acceleration points on his body, he would barely reach the level of an Olympic athlete across the board. Being able to run a hundred meters in ten seconds would be good.

Uh, but because it was a comprehensive increase, he could achieve this level even with a load, and he could maintain it for longer...

However, looking at the proficiency increase speed, Basic Breathing Technique (Modified) should reach Lv2 soon, and the instantaneous Blood Essence burst increase would improve further.

Shooting, with the talent boost, had already reached Lv2. After familiarizing himself with the performance of the gun in his hand, he could ensure a good hit rate even with a fluctuating trajectory.

"Another increase in instantaneous burst... it feels like I'm going further off track."

Tao Yu chewed another mouthful of snake meat, feeling a bit powerless to complain. While life-and-death situations were often decided in an instant, he felt something was odd. Wasn't the dream of a man a powerful, enduring physique?

"We're almost there, be careful."

Winuo's voice came from ahead, and the team slowed down slightly again, everyone increasing their vigilance of the surroundings.

Thanks to Tao Yu's occasional shots, this act of beating the grass to startle the snake meant they hadn't encountered any minor troubles along the way.

Tao Yu himself had also stopped practicing his shooting, looking around from time to time.

His shooting skill was already level 2, so there was no need to waste more bullets.

And after firing so many shots, he wondered if it would attract anything prematurely.

For ordinary animals, even for a Giant Python, such unknown sounds meant they would prioritize hiding – this was the survival instinct etched into their genes by nature.

But…

For some other abnormal creatures, perhaps it would be different.

If it weren't for the Facehuggers, why would I have borrowed so much? You guys really need to think of a solution for me…