New Goal

Barbaric Realm, the morning of the third day.

Wasteland.

Jiangnan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and clenched his fists.

He had not turned into a muscular tough guy; his physique remained lean and well-proportioned.

However, the streamlined muscles beneath his clothes now contained astonishing explosive power.

"Let's test the results."

Jiangnan walked to the open ground, crouched slightly, and tensed his thigh muscles.

Whoosh!

Without a running start, he jumped from a standstill.

His entire body was like a compressed spring, instantly launching into the air!

When he landed, he looked at the height he had just reached.

"Vertical jump height... about 2 meters."

Jiangnan raised an eyebrow.

One had to know that even the greatest basketball legends barely cleared a meter with a running start.

His two-meter standing vertical jump was simply inhuman.

Next was speed.

Jiangnan took a deep breath, leaned his body forward, and exerted force instantly!

Boom!

The soil beneath his feet exploded into a small pit, and he turned into a black afterimage, carving a straight line across the wasteland.

The sound of the wind in his ears turned into a shrill whistle.

A few seconds later, Jiangnan stopped and mentally calculated the distance and time.

"Without professional equipment, a rough estimate... the speed per second should have reached 20 meters per second."

What kind of concept was this?

The god of sprinting on Blue Star, Bolt, had a peak speed of only about 12.5 meters per second during his hundred-meter dash.

Jiangnan's current speed was nearly double that of Bolt!

And it was instantaneous! There was no need for a gradual buildup!

If it were a hundred-meter sprint, he would only need five seconds!

Finally, there was strength.

Jiangnan walked to the edge of the twisted forest and found a dead tree stump about the thickness of a thigh.

He reached out one hand, gripped the bark, and exerted force with his five fingers.

Crack!

It was as if he were crushing a piece of tofu.

The stump shattered instantly in his hand, wood chips flying everywhere.

His palm didn't even have a single red mark left on it; he felt as if he hadn't even used his full strength.

If it were a bench press...

Jiangnan estimated the feedback from his muscles: "My limit strength should be around 1,000 kilograms."

The world record holder on Blue Star, Jimmy Kolb, had a bench press record of just over 600 kilograms while wearing professional gear.

"In other words, the D+ rank stats are about 70% higher than the human limit on Blue Star."

Jiangnan stroked his chin, very satisfied with this result.

This not only meant that he possessed the ability to protect himself without using his word spirit, but more importantly:

The stronger his body, the greater his tolerance for the backlash of his word spirit.

For an ordinary person, this serum was a life-saving talisman.

But for someone with a supernatural ability, this was a qualitative change where 1+1 > 2!

"As for stamina..."

Jiangnan thought of a certain aspect.

There was no need to test this; it could be verified slowly in his future "daily" life.

Just as he was preparing to return to the car to plan his next move, Guo Shuai walked over from the rear of the car.

At this moment, Guo Shuai was wearing an eyepatch over his left eye that Wang Meng had fashioned from a belt, and he was clutching a yellowed parchment scroll tightly in his hand.

He walked up to Jiangnan, handed it over with both hands, his expression somewhat dejected:

"Boss... this is Yang Wei's novice rankings reward."

"The sky curtain just notified me that as his only teammate, this item has been transferred to me."

Guo Shuai lowered his head, his voice somewhat choked with emotion: "It's useless for me to keep it, please take it."

Although Yang Wei was gone, this item had been exchanged for with his life, and Guo Shuai did not want it to go to waste.

Jiangnan looked at the scroll and, without any hesitation, reached out and took it.

As a leader, helping a subordinate deal with items that evoke painful memories was also a form of kindness.

He opened the scroll.

There was only a single red dot blinking on it, surrounded by blank space, with no text or instructions.

"?"

Jiangnan looked at Guo Shuai, his eyes asking how this thing was supposed to be used.

Guo Shuai scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.

"Boss, I don't know either. The sky curtain didn't say anything, just that it was a special reward for the top twenty."

Jiangnan wasn't angry.

This was essentially an inheritance of remains; it was normal for there to be no manual.

He took the scroll, turned around, and got into the vehicle, heading straight for Liu Yuqing, who was sprawled out on the sofa.

At this moment, Liu Yuqing had two large dark circles under her eyes, her hair disheveled.

Clearly, she hadn't slept well last night, tortured by that rhythmic "lullaby."

Beside her, that heartless silly girl Yu Shishi was sleeping soundly, limbs splayed, with drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

It was as if the tremors from last night had been nothing more than white noise to help her sleep.

"Boss?"

Seeing Jiangnan enter, Liu Yuqing hurriedly rubbed her eyes and stood up: "Do you have any orders?"

Jiangnan didn't waste words and handed the scroll in his hand directly to her.

Liu Yuqing took it, and a blue light flashed in her eyes.

Appraisal!

A few seconds later, her previously squinted eyes widened instantly!

[Item]: Terminal Search Scroll

[Level]: C-class

[Type]: One-time consumable item

[Source]: Sky Curtain System reward, cannot be obtained directly from the Barbaric Realm.

[Function]: After use, it will automatically mark the nearest "Barbaric Realm Terminal Signal Tower" on the map.

[Note]: The terminal signal tower is the only interactive facility that enables the "Area Map" function.

Place the leader terminal on it to unlock and download detailed map information for the surrounding 200 kilometers.

"Boss! This is good stuff!!"

Liu Yuqing was so excited she nearly jumped up, quickly taking out paper and pen to write the information for Jiangnan.

"With this, we can enable the map function! We won't have to run blindly in this godforsaken place anymore!"

"Should we set off now?"

Jiangnan glanced at the information and nodded.

It was indeed a strategic-level item.

Without a map, even with a vehicle, one is essentially blind.

He thought for a moment, then stuffed the tablet computer in his hand, along with the scroll, into Liu Yuqing's arms.

Then, he wrote on a note.

[From now on, you're in charge of this.]

To be honest, other than claiming supplies and checking the rankings earlier, this tablet didn't have much use at the moment.

For a dictator like Jiangnan, who only needed to be responsible for "killing monsters" and "being pretentious," trivial matters like studying maps, planning routes, and managing supplies were simply too much of a hassle.

It was better to leave it to Liu Yuqing, the "civil official" with a sharp brain.

"Ah? To me?"

Liu Yuqing held the tablet, stunned.

This was the leader terminal!

It was equivalent to the imperial seal of ancient times!

The boss actually entrusted this to her so easily?

A sentiment akin to "a scholar dies for his confidant" surged within her chest cavity.

Not only was the boss powerful, handsome, and physically fit, but his magnanimity was also truly great!

He was simply a born leader!

"Thank you for your trust, boss!"

Liu Yuqing clutched the tablet and bowed deeply, her eyes as resolute as if she were joining the party.

"I will surely serve you with my utmost devotion until my dying breath!"

After declaring her loyalty, she turned to glance at Yu Shishi, who was still fast asleep, and felt a surge of irritation.

Everyone else was working, yet this silly girl was just enjoying herself?

"Smack!"

Liu Yuqing didn't hold back as she slapped Yu Shishi's q-elastic perky buttocks.

"Wake up! Stop sleeping! Go cook!"

"Mmm..."

Yu Shishi rubbed her buttocks in a daze, her face full of grievance.

"Ouch... Yuqing, why did you hit me... I was sleeping so soundly..."

"I even dreamed of my parents..."

"Dreamed of your parents?"

Human curiosity made Liu Yuqing ask instinctively, "What were you doing in your dream?"

Yu Shishi blinked her large eyes, recalling the memory with a look of bliss.

"I dreamed that when I was little, they were tucking me in... Not only did they tell me stories, but even after I fell asleep in bed..."

"They were afraid I'd be scared, so they were clapping for me right beside the bed!"

"Clap, clap, clap—it was so rhythmic!"

"..."

Liu Yuqing's hand, which had been adjusting her glasses, froze in mid-air.

Even Jiangnan came to a sudden halt.

The two of them exchanged a look, their expressions extremely bizarre.

Good grief.

Was that the kind of "clapping" used to lull someone to sleep?

That was clearly them making an alt account for you!

And weren't her parents a bit too carefree?

The child was still in the room...

"Uh, wait..."

Jiangnan suddenly realized something.

Last night, he seemed to be the one "clapping" on the sidelines as well.

Thinking about it this way, he didn't really have the right to complain about someone else's parents.

"Ahem."

Jiangnan gave a tactical cough and wrote on the sticky note.

[Stop talking nonsense, go to the fridge and get stuff to cook.]

[After we eat, we'll rest here until twelve, then set off to find the signal tower.]

"Oh! Alright!"

Yu Shishi didn't notice the hidden meaning in the other two's eyes at all.

As soon as she heard she could eat, she hopped off the sofa and trotted over to open the fridge.

After arranging the tasks, Liu Yuqing hugged her tablet, preparing to get out of the car to tell the others and study the route along the way.

Jiangnan turned his head, his gaze fixed on the tightly shut frosted glass door of the bathroom.

A graceful silhouette was faintly visible through it.

"Now..."

The corner of Jiangnan's mouth curled up, and he untied the belt of his bathrobe.

"It's time to test the endurance of a D+ rank body."

He pushed open the bathroom door and walked inside.

"Ah!"

An exclamation came from Chen Tong inside, followed by a shy, reproachful voice.

"You... why did you come in?"

"I'm washing the bloodstains off the sheets... it's all your fault, last night..."

"I hate you~"

Then, the bathroom door closed once more.

As for whether she was washing the sheets or doing something else entirely...

Only the sound of the rushing water knew.