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Barbaric Realm, dawn of the third day

The wasteland.

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

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He hadn't turned into a muscle-bound giant. His frame remained lean and well-proportioned.

But beneath his clothes, his streamlined muscles held astonishing explosive power.

"Let's see how it feels."

Jiang Nan walked into an open patch of ground, sank into a slight crouch, and tensed his thigh muscles.

Whoosh!

Without a running start, he sprang straight up.

His whole body was like a compressed spring, launching into the air in an instant!

When he landed, he looked up at how high he'd been suspended just moments before.

"Vertical jump height... about two meters."

Jiang Nan raised an eyebrow.

Even Laoda could only reach a little over a meter with a running jump.

A two-meter standing jump was simply inhuman.

Next, speed.

Jiang Nan took a deep breath, leaned forward, and unleashed his strength!

Boom!

The dirt beneath his feet burst into a small crater. He became a black blur, streaking across the wasteland in a straight line.

The wind in his ears turned into a shrill whistle.

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

"I don't have professional equipment, but by a rough estimate... I should've reached 20 meters per second."

What did that mean?

Bolt, the sprinting god of Blue Star, peaked at only about 12.5 meters per second in the hundred-meter dash.

Jiang Nan was now almost twice as fast as Bolt!

And he could reach that speed instantly! He didn't need to build up to it!

At a hundred-meter sprint, he'd need only five seconds!

Lastly, strength.

Jiang Nan walked to the edge of the Twisted Forest and found a dead stump about as thick as his thigh.

He reached out, gripped the bark, and tightened his five fingers.

Crack!

It was like crushing a block of tofu.

The stump shattered in his hand, scattering wood chips everywhere.

His palm didn't even show a hint of redness. It hadn't even felt like he'd exerted himself.

"If I were bench-pressing..."

Jiang Nan gauged the feedback from his muscles. "My maximum strength should be around a thousand kilograms."

Jimmy Kolb, the Blue Star world-record holder, had managed only a little over six hundred kilograms in the bench press, even with professional equipment.

"So D+ class means stats around 70 percent higher than the human limit on Blue Star."

Jiang Nan rubbed his chin, very satisfied with the result.

This didn't just mean he could protect himself without using Word Spirit. More importantly—

The stronger his body, the more it could withstand the backlash from Word Spirit.

For ordinary people, this potion was a life-saving charm.

But for those with supernatural abilities, it was a transformation where one plus one was greater than two!

"As for stamina..."

Jiang Nan thought of a certain aspect.

There was no need to test it. He could verify it little by little in his "daily" life from now on.

Just as he was about to return to the car and plan their next move, Guo Shuai came around from the back of the vehicle.

Guo Shuai now wore an eyepatch Wang Meng had hastily fashioned from a belt over his left eye. He clutched a yellowed parchment scroll tightly in his hand.

He walked up to Jiang Nan and offered it with both hands, looking downcast.

"Boss... this is Yang Wei's reward from the Novice Rankings."

"The Sky Curtain just told me that, as his only teammate, I'd be receiving it."

Guo Shuai lowered his head, his voice choking up. "I have no use for it. You should take it."

Yang Wei was gone, but he'd won this with his life. Guo Shuai didn't want it to go to waste.

Jiang Nan looked at the scroll and took it without hesitation.

As their leader, helping a subordinate let go of a painful reminder was a kindness, too.

He unrolled the scroll.

There was only one red dot blinking on it, surrounded by blank space. No instructions, not a single word.

"?"

Jiang Nan looked at Guo Shuai, asking with his eyes how to use the thing.

Guo Shuai scratched his head, looking just as confused.

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

Jiang Nan wasn't annoyed.

It was an inheritance of sorts, so it was only natural that it came without an instruction manual.

He took the scroll, turned, and climbed into the vehicle. He went straight to Liu Yuqing, who was sprawled on the sofa.

Liu Yuqing had two huge dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was a mess.

Clearly, the rhythmic "lullaby" had kept her from getting much sleep the previous night.

Meanwhile, Yu Shishi, the carefree little fool, was sleeping soundly beside her, sprawled out with drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

It was as if last night's shaking had been nothing more than white noise to help her sleep.

"Boss?"

Seeing Jiang Nan come in, Liu Yuqing quickly rubbed her eyes and sat up. "What do you need?"

Jiang Nan skipped the small talk and handed her the scroll.

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

Appraisal!

A few seconds later, her half-closed eyes flew wide open!

[Item]: Terminal Search Scroll

[Class]: C-class

[Type]: Single-use consumable

[Source]: Reward from the Sky Curtain System. Cannot be obtained directly from the Barbaric Realm.

[Function]: When used, it automatically marks the nearest "Barbaric Realm Terminal Signal Tower" on the map.

[Note]: The Terminal Signal Tower is the only interactive facility that unlocks the "Area Map" function.

Place the Leader Terminal on it to unlock and download detailed map data for the surrounding 200 kilometers.

"Boss! This is amazing!"

Liu Yuqing was so excited she nearly jumped up. She hurriedly pulled out paper and pen and wrote the information down for Jiang Nan.

"With this, we can unlock the map! We won't have to wander around this godforsaken place blindly anymore!"

"Should we set out now?"

Jiang Nan glanced at the information and nodded.

It really was a strategic-level item.

Without a map, even with a car, they were still blind.

He thought for a moment, then handed Liu Yuqing the tablet computer along with the scroll.

He wrote on a sticky note:

[You'll be in charge of managing these from now on.]

Honestly, the tablet hadn't been much use so far, aside from claiming supplies and checking the rankings.

For an autocrat like Jiang Nan, who only needed to "kill monsters" and "show off,"

researching maps, planning routes, and managing supplies were too much of a hassle.

Better to hand those chores to Liu Yuqing, the sharp-minded "civil official."

"Huh? You're giving it to me?"

Liu Yuqing stared at the tablet in her hands, stunned.

This was the Leader Terminal!

It was like the imperial jade seal of old!

And Boss was just handing it over to her without a second thought?

An emotion called "a knight would die for someone who understood him" surged through her chest.

Boss was powerful, handsome, and vigorous. He was even so magnanimous!

He was a born leader!

"Thank you for trusting me, Boss!"

Liu Yuqing hugged the tablet and bowed deeply, her eyes as resolute as a sworn party member's.

"I'll serve you to the bitter end—even if it costs me my life!"

After pledging her loyalty, she glanced at Yu Shishi, who was still fast asleep, and bristled with irritation.

Everyone else was working, and this silly girl was living the good life?

Smack!

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Yuqing slapped Yu Shishi's pert, springy backside.

"Get up! No more sleeping! Go make breakfast!"

"Mm..."

Yu Shishi rubbed her backside groggily, looking aggrieved.

"Ow... Yuqing, why'd you hit me? I was sleeping so well..."

"I even dreamed about my mom and dad..."

"Dreamed about your parents?"

Curiosity got the better of Liu Yuqing, and she asked without thinking, "What were they doing in your dream?"

Yu Shishi blinked her big eyes and recalled it happily.

"I dreamed about when I was little and they used to sing me to sleep... They even told me stories. And after I'd climbed into bed and fallen asleep..."

"They were afraid I'd get scared, so they clapped beside me!"

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

"..."

Liu Yuqing's hand froze in midair as she reached to adjust her glasses.

Even Jiang Nan stopped in his tracks.

Good heavens.

Was that really them "clapping" to help you sleep?

They were making a baby!

And what were her parents thinking, doing that with their child in the room?

"Uh, wait..."

Jiang Nan suddenly realized something.

Last night, he'd been the one "clapping" nearby, too.

Thinking about it, he wasn't exactly in a position to criticize her parents.

"Ahem."

Jiang Nan gave a tactical cough and wrote on a sticky note.

[Cut the chatter. Go get ingredients from the fridge and make breakfast.]

[After we eat, rest here until noon, then we'll go find the Signal Tower.]

"Oh! Sure!"

Yu Shishi hadn't noticed the meaning behind their expressions at all.

At the mention of food, she immediately hopped off the sofa and scampered over to open the fridge.

After assigning the tasks,

Liu Yuqing hugged the tablet and prepared to get out of the vehicle, tell the other two, and study the route.

Jiang Nan turned and looked toward the bathroom's tightly shut Frosted Glass Door.

A graceful silhouette was faintly visible inside.

"Now..."

The corners of Jiang Nan's mouth curled up as he loosened the belt of his robe.

"It's time to test the stamina of a D+ class body."

He pushed open the bathroom door and went inside.

"Ah!"

Chen Tong let out a startled cry from inside, followed by a bashful, reproachful voice.

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

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

"Ugh, you're awful~"

Then the bathroom door closed again.

Whether she was washing the bedsheets or doing something else...

Only the rushing water knew.