"Ah, I can't sleep~"
Qin Tian tossed and turned on the carpet, unable to drift off.
"Forget it. If I can't sleep, I might as well get up."
Qin Tian slowly sat up and glanced at the Evolution Points on the System Panel.
In this battle, he'd killed over a hundred Green-skinned Orcs, more than a hundred Shadow Cats, and a Sky Camel Beast, harvesting 4,396 Evolution Points in total.
[Shadow of the Spirit Cat] had been upgraded to [Shadow Muscle and Bone], costing 2,000 Evolution Points. He had more than 2,000 left—enough, presumably, to evolve another green orb.
At present, he had four Green Talents: Absolute Gun Sense, Advanced Strength, Rapid Recovery, and Danger Sense.
If he was going to upgrade one, he planned to choose between Advanced Strength and Rapid Recovery.
After all, both directly enhanced his physical abilities, making their effects more obvious and practical.
Which one should he upgrade?
After a moment's thought, Qin Tian made his decision.
Upgrade [Advanced Strength].
Rapid Recovery was useful. If upgraded far enough, it might even grant him an immortal body like Wolverine's, along with a face that never aged—something many people dreamed of.
But if all he had was strong recovery, without enough strength, defense, or stamina, he'd just be a health pack that healed quickly. His combat ability would still be mediocre at best.
Wolverine was the perfect example.
Before being injected with Adamantium, Wolverine was a nobody. At most, he could bully ordinary people. With Adamantium, he barely counted as a third-rate fighter.
But if Wolverine had strength and a physique on par with Hulk's, on top of his immortality, he'd absolutely be a ridiculously overpowered hero in Marvel, catapulted straight into the top tier.
This was the one!
He invested 2,000 Evolution Points to upgrade [Advanced Strength].
Buzz~~~
The green orb representing [Advanced Strength] trembled violently. Its green hue deepened, and soon a glimmer of blue appeared, tinting the orb a pale blue.
[Name] Steel Muscles and Bones (Blue) [Type] Passive Talent [Description] Your body has been tempered through relentless trials. Your muscles are like steel and your bones like iron. Your strength, defense, stamina, and explosive power are greatly increased. Physical damage taken is reduced by 20%, and magical damage taken is reduced by 15%.
Boom!!!
A surge of heat burst from his heart and swiftly coursed through his entire body.
Qin Tian squeezed his eyes shut as his Qi and Blood surged within him. His muscles swelled and contracted, as if enduring some kind of tempering. His bones gave off faint crackling sounds, growing denser and harder under the mysterious force, their density increasing exponentially. The meridians hidden deep within his body now shone brilliantly, like glittering serpents, visibly widening and growing more resilient.
A moment later, Qin Tian slowly opened his eyes and clenched his fist, feeling a surging power fill his body.
"Steel Muscles and Bones."
Qin Tian's lips curled into a faint smile. Compared to the agility and flexibility granted by Shadow Muscle and Bone, he preferred the heft and strength of Steel Muscles and Bones.
What was so great about being an assassin? Being a tanky Warrior was much better!
Meat was what mattered!
After evolving Steel Muscles and Bones, Qin Tian felt full of energy—and even less able to sleep.
"Ah, it's still four hours until I have to get up. This is going to be rough~"
Qin Tian sighed helplessly.
Just then, alarm bells suddenly rang in his mind. He instinctively turned his head.
In the pitch-black tent, a gelatinous shadow emerged from the ground. It quickly revealed its true form: a catman, hunched over, with long, slender limbs and pitch-black fur.
With the talent [Shadow Muscle and Bone], Qin Tian had excellent night vision. He could even make out the faintly swaying hairs on the catman's face.
The catman surveyed its surroundings, then happened to meet Qin Tian's gaze.
"Meow!!!"
"Die!!!"
The man and cat lunged at each other at the same time.
The catman swiped its claws toward Qin Tian's throat. Qin Tian reacted instantly, leaning his head back to narrowly dodge the strike. At the same time, almost on instinct, he raised his right leg and snapped it upward in a lightning-fast kick.
Thud!!!
His kick struck the catman in the groin. For a moment, it seemed he heard something crack.
The catman's eyes bulged, blood vessels bursting in its eerie green eyes as it let out a piercing scream.
"Meow!!!!"
Boom!!
A huge fireball struck the catman's ear from the side. A massive figure rushed in and pinned it firmly to the ground.
Without hesitation, Qin Tian delivered a brutal soccer-style kick to the catman's temple.
Thud!
Its head burst like a watermelon, spraying red and white across the ground.
Qin Tian hadn't expected his kick to be so powerful. He froze for a moment.
Click~
The tent's night-light switched on. Qin Dadi, Liu Zhaozhao, and Xiao Yunlong gathered around and looked down at the headless corpse.
"Good grief, it's an upper species of Spirit Cat—the Shadow Catman."
Xiao Yunlong drew in a sharp breath, his heart pounding.
Shadow Catmen were Bronze Beastmen. They were creatures of darkness, assassins beneath the night sky. Not only were they even more agile than Spirit Cats, they could also merge with shadows, sneaking and leaping through them.
"This should be a Second Order Shadow Catman. If it had been Third Order, none of us would've survived."
Qin Dadi took a deep breath. His voice held a trace of trembling and lingering fear.
"Qin Tian, you've saved our lives again." Liu Zhaozhao turned to look at him.
From that arrow on the battlefield, to the fight with the Spirit Cats, and now this Shadow Catman—
Qin Tian had saved them three times in all.
At first, when Qin Tian joined the Earth Dragon Squad, she hadn't thought much of their new teammate. After all, people tended to hold some prejudice against clones.
Even though Raymond had vouched for Qin Tian's marksmanship, she still thought he was far inferior to Huang Xun, the former Sharpshooter who had seen countless battles.
In fact, because he lacked basic knowledge and combat experience, she'd thought Qin Tian would be more of a burden than a help to the Earth Dragon Squad.
But the facts proved her wrong—terribly wrong.
Qin Tian's marksmanship was precise, and his physical abilities were astonishingly strong.
He had keen battlefield awareness, agility on par with a Spirit Cat, and terrifying stamina comparable to a Horned Horse.
He was practically a super soldier manufactured by the military, with no apparent weaknesses or flaws.
The three of them had originally been supposed to protect their new teammate and prevent a repeat of Huang Xun's tragedy. Instead, Qin Tian had repeatedly pulled the squad out of danger.
"I couldn't sleep, and happened to spot it."
Qin Tian pressed his lips together, a glint of excitement in his eyes.
After killing the Shadow Catman, two Blue Light Orbs entered his body.
One merged with [Shadow Muscle and Bone], with almost no visible change.
But the other was a brand-new Blue Talent—
[Name] Shadow Leap (Blue) [Type] Active Talent [Description] When activated, the host merges with the shadows and can move through them. Using shadows as stepping stones, the host can travel a certain distance.
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