Qi Pulse Hand, the Hidden Buffs Brought by Skills!

[Dear residents of Xingfu City, good morning!]

[This is the Xingfu City morning radio, here to keep you company at six o'clock sharp every day. I am today's broadcaster: Little Sun. I hope to pack warmth and joy into these airwaves and send them straight to you!]

[First, let's look at the weather. Take a look outside the window; a mischievous rainstorm is gently blanketing Shi Province. Yun City, Yang City, and our own Chuan City—where Xingfu City is located—along with six other cities, are all being embraced by this "sweet rain." However, the playful rain might be having a bit too much fun. Mountain floods are like infected playing hide-and-seek, liable to pop up at any moment. For those of you heading out, remember to keep your eyes peeled so you don't get swept away to another province~]

[Speaking of our neighbors in Yun City, good news! The infected tide there has finally come to an end. It's just a pity that Yeyue Shelter City wasn't so lucky. I heard they suffered heavy losses during the tide and are now shivering in their underground facilities. Little Sun is here to cheer them on—I hope the gloom clears away soon!]

[Oh, right, and an important reminder! Some hydrophilic type infected are being affected by the rainstorm and might decide to go on an impromptu "trip." Warriors from Xingfu City heading out, make sure you're on high alert. Don't let those savages catch you off guard!]

[Next, news from the surrounding provinces. A strange, thick fog has appeared in Sha Province recently. People who walk into it feel like they've fallen into a marshmallow. Could it be that Yun Duo has secretly hidden them away?]

[Hai Province has seen a new infection source of the tentacle variety. I heard it's a full thirty meters long—a distant relative of the death whisper tentacle. Ugh, how disgusting!]

[...]

From the dilapidated radio came a voice full of vitality, completely out of place with the death-ridden keynote of the wasteland.

Wrapped in the sound of rain.

Uncle Dong lay in a rattan chair with his legs crossed, waving a cattail fan while occasionally muttering curses, exclamations, and curious grumbles in response to the broadcast.

The morning radio, which aired every three days, was one of the few forms of entertainment for the people at the bottom layer of the buffer zone.

Unlike the evening broadcast that aired every day on time, which always maintained a grim, iron-gray tone with death threats woven between the lines—as if you'd be torn to shreds by infected the moment you ignored their warnings—Little Sun's broadcast always felt comforting, as if the infected had turned into friendly neighbors.

However, happy times are always fleeting. In the blink of an eye, the half-hour news segment passed, and the gossip from across the wasteland came to an end.

The closing remarks drifted slowly from the radio's loudspeaker:

[Alright, the director is already rushing me, so that's all for today's broadcast~]

[But before we finish, I still want to have a quick chat with our family members living in Xingfu City. Please don't be afraid of the new changes. We have diligent guards cleaning the city perimeter around the clock, minimizing the threat of the infected. We have an information sharing network established in coordination with over twenty surrounding shelter cities, allowing us to control all dynamic changes in real-time.]

[Of course, we also have the most professional inspector, who can keep all infected outside the checkpoint, protecting the safety of every resident right from the source!]

[Get up now, take the vitality Little Sun has given you, and be full of energy today~]

"That's it?"

The sweet, affected voice vanished, replaced by chaotic static.

Uncle Dong cursed, feeling a bit unsatisfied, and pulled his right hand back out from his trouser pocket.

Damn rainstorm, it even cut two minutes off Little Sun's airtime, skipping the final sweet song segment.

He had only just gotten ready to start, and it was already over?

He glanced up at the electronic clock on the wall; the hands had just brushed past 6:31. Uncle Dong clicked his tongue, his injured right arm beginning to ache again in this damp weather.

"Still need to earn more money, get that surgery done sooner."

It was a ghostly rainstorm of a day; there probably wouldn't be any business at all.

But thinking of the exorbitant surgical fees, Uncle Dong still had to get up and slowly pull up the rolling shutter door.

The rusted iron chain creaked, and the scroll emitted the screeching sound of old gears grinding. As a gap half a person's height appeared, a pair of blood-red eyes were slowly revealed.

"Holy shit!"

Uncle Dong shuddered in fright. Having been retired for many years, his courage had plummeted, and he actually stumbled back two steps in shock.

Bang.

The iron door was caught by a pair of hands and lifted from the outside in. The blood-red eyes dipped, revealing the sharp, angular jaw pass of a young man.

"Xiao Cheng?"

Seeing clearly that it was Cheng Ye, Uncle Dong visibly breathed a sigh of relief, though his heart was still thumping wildly.

"Why are you here so early in the morning..."

The words caught in his throat. Even though it had only been a day, the state Cheng Ye was in left Uncle Dong feeling a bit disoriented.

His skin was paler than ever, to the point where the dark blue veins underneath were visible, looking like vines bloated from soaking in a rainstorm.

His physique, which had previously been essentially flat, now showed signs of muscle growth—especially his chest, which had begun to take on the faint shape of an inverted triangle.

Furthermore, with the experience of a veteran warrior, Uncle Dong also noticed that Cheng Ye's hands seemed to have grown a size larger.

This was a sign only seen in those who had practiced martial arts for years, indicating that the qi channels in the hands had been opened, allowing for a firmer grip on weapons in close-quarters combat, or the ability to unleash greater power when fighting barehanded!

"Uncle Dong, how much nutrient paste do you have left? Bring it out, I want it all!"

Cheng Ye's voice sounded like sandpaper scraping against rust, terrifyingly hoarse.

Uncle Dong frowned, but in the end, he didn't ask anything and quickly walked out carrying a crate of nutrient paste.

"There are thirty-five bags left. Drink as much as you can; it's on Uncle Dong today!"

There was no answer.

Cheng Ye had already reached out with both hands, savagely grabbing two bags and squeezing them directly into his mouth.

The milky-white liquid flowed down the corners of his mouth as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, producing a continuous gulping sound.

In all fairness, the nutrient paste produced in Xingfu City didn't taste that bad.

It tasted a bit like soy milk diluted ten times over, with a faint sweetness and a grassy aftertaste.

This was the only thing Cheng Ye felt fortunate about after transmigrating to the wasteland.

The researchers in this wasteland world were, at the very least, not as foolish as those depicted in many wasteland novels—they didn't turn the primary food source for the bottom layer of humanity into terrible, nightmarish concoctions, which in those stories eventually forced people to rise up and overthrow the class system due to the disparity in food quality.

Drinking nutrient paste long-term, aside from making one's mouth feel bland enough to drive a person mad and stripping life of some of its meaning, was actually much healthier than the gutter-oil meals of the modern era.

"Six bags. Eight bags. Ten bags!"

Uncle Dong narrowed his eyes. He observed that after Cheng Ye's frantic eating, the pallor on his face began to fade, replaced by a hint of a healthy flush.

The skin exposed to the air no longer looked waterlogged, wrinkled, and pale; instead, it was rapidly regaining the color and luster of a normal person, becoming even healthier than before.

Uncle Dong kept his gaze fixed specifically on those hands, his eyes flickering with envy and a trace of jealousy.

Qi pulse hand—one of the most coveted talents for a martial artist.

In the old era, the various wonders of traditional martial arts were limited by the direction of human genetic evolution and could never truly flourish. It wasn't until many years into the wasteland era, when genes reverted to their primitive, wild state, that these arts finally found a place to be useful again.

Yet, despite his own talent, Uncle Dong had practiced his entire life without even crossing the threshold, while Cheng Ye, so young, had already grasped a hint of the way.

It really is true that comparing yourself to others only leads to frustration!

Soon, the eighteenth bag of nutrient paste was down.

Cheng Ye stopped, finally feeling the hunger in his gut dissipate enough to become bearable.

"Uncle Dong."

Before entering, Cheng Ye had already prepared an explanation, but to his surprise, Uncle Dong waved a hand first. "No need to explain. I didn't expect A Long to have left you a tube of gene purification serum before he left. You really have patience, waiting until today to use it to maximize the effects."

Gene purification serum?

What on earth is that?

Is it the same stuff Captain America used?

The original owner had never even come into contact with such high-end goods while in the inner city. Day in and day out, he was either busy with romance or fiddling with poetry and songs. Looking through his memories, Cheng Ye had thought he was trying to become a trend idol in the wasteland.

Since Uncle Dong had already provided an explanation, Cheng Ye kept his composure and tucked away the excuse he had prepared about having taken a special medicine.

However, he remained cautious, fearing that Uncle Dong might have fabricated something non-existent to trick him.

Therefore, he didn't admit to it, instead shaking his head with a smile. "Uncle Dong, you're joking. I've never even heard of any enhancement serum. I was just too busy at work yesterday to eat, and I got desperate from hunger!"

"It's good that you haven't heard of it. Just remember to eat on time from now on."

Uncle Dong smiled indifferently and pushed the remaining nutrient paste, along with the box, toward him. "The shelf life only has two days left anyway. Take it all with you."

"How much?"

"I said it was my treat. Are you not going to give Uncle Dong this much face?"

"Thank you, Uncle Dong. If you ever have any trouble, just come find me."

Cheng Ye patted his chest, making the grand promise before walking out of the shop with the box in his arms.

Uncle Dong had been able to crawl through the battlefield for over twenty years, and even after getting injured in his old age, he had managed to retire and open a shop.

This wasn't something that could be achieved by intelligence alone; he was definitely a ruthless character with a very firm wrist pass.

Using a box of nutrient paste to invest in me and earn a favor is a perfect move. I also need Uncle Dong to keep my secret, so our goals don't conflict.

He entered his room and closed the door.

Of the remaining seventeen bags of nutrient paste, Cheng Ye tore open ten more and downed them. Only then did he finally feel a bit full, driving away the hunger that had been lingering in his brain.

He went to the public restroom and took off his shirt. The body in the mirror was no longer as thin as before; overnight, it had been covered in a layer of lean muscle. Although the lines weren't exaggerated, they exuded a beauty full of power.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Cheng Ye was plunged into unprecedented shock.

It's too terrifying. The buffs brought by this skill far exceed my imagination!

It was hard to explain what had happened using science.

The lv.1 basic strength had not only provided him with techniques and muscle memory, but it had also brought about this physical transformation overnight, saving him months of grueling training.

Could it be that the muscle memory for force application requires sufficient muscle mass to support it?

If I find a skill that improves my physique in the future, will I be able to obtain such a massive boost again?

Returning to his room, Cheng Ye fell into a happy dilemma.

The sudden surge in his strength greatly increased his chances of surviving the upcoming field mission.

However, the obvious changes overnight made it difficult for him to lie low and develop among the crowd.

Didi di.

The defense communicator on the table signaled an incoming call.

Who is calling me so early?

Cheng Ye looked at the screen with curiosity, then suddenly froze.

It wasn't Liu Bi, but a name he had never expected to see.