Strengthening (I)

Chapter 11: Enhancement (I)

The atmosphere grew tense in an instant.

Everyone had witnessed the disappearance of that guide with their own eyes... and death was always a heavy topic. Especially for those who had already died once, they knew all too well just how precious it was to be alive.

Amidst the silence, Fang Xiu moved his feet and arrived beneath the sphere of light. There were twenty unclaimed portals in total; he chose one at random, pressed his hand against it, and projected his expectations for his living quarters into his mind.

Konoha, the 44th Training Ground, the Forest of Death, towering ancient trees, streams, rolling hills, sporadically distributed high towers, and classical Eastern architecture designed for rest and residence—

Colored glazed tiles adorned the rooftops; the pillars, beams, and main gates were decorated with chiwen elements; the statues in the courtyard depicted figures, Buddhist and Taoist legends, birds, beasts, flowers, and insects.

Furthermore, it was worth noting that within the scope of his captain's authority, Fang Xiu had managed to "freeload" a gravity modification that set the environment to three times that of Earth.

Once he finished, he pulled his hand away from the light gate, looked at his teammates behind him, and said earnestly, "Also, I know everyone still has doubts, but before we discuss business, it is necessary to relax your frayed nerves. Everyone, go create your own private space first."

"Relax your body and mind, think independently about your own situation, and make a simple plan for the future, but it is best not to exchange anything rashly."

"Remember, I don't play that 'bloody farming' game, and I won't exploit my teammates. I just want us to support each other so we can go further."

"Keep your resources for your own enhancements."

With those words, he stepped into the light curtain.

Before disappearing, Fang Xiu's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Tang Tian. The young man had begged him for help in the trial pyramid, promising half of his main quest rewards.

In truth, it had been nothing more than a casual, effortless favor; there was no need to take those words to heart.

Besides, in a Main God Space structured around reincarnation teams, having reliable and capable teammates was indeed better than fighting alone.

"Seven newcomers, three dead, leaving the four of us. The survival rate is already quite high. If the captain hadn't killed the Alien Queen, even fewer of us would have survived."

The burly man, Emir, spoke in a low voice, stating a fact. The subtext was clear—there was no need to dwell on the fact that Fang Xiu had acted alone at the start of the trial, leaving the newcomers to fend for themselves.

In a world of reincarnation, such a cruel place, expecting a powerhouse to babysit newcomers was nothing more than a pipe dream! To a certain extent, Fang Xiu had done well enough. At the very least, he had taken proactive action, further weakening the already low-difficulty beginner's welfare mission and increasing the overall survival rate.

He had even looked after the temporary teammates he encountered later on.

"If it weren't for the big brother... I reckon I would have died in the trial grounds." Tang Tian still felt a lingering fear, then thought of something and asked curiously, "I almost forgot to ask, when the Yautja activated its self-destruct device, you weren't at the scene. How did you know to escape?"

"It was the guide, that morbid woman. She used some kind of ability to transmit a message to me, warning that I had to leave the underground world within ten minutes, otherwise... I would die."

Emir's tone was heavy.

Beside him, the black man Odubiao, whose life he had saved, nodded in agreement. "It's a pity that this lady disappeared. She was truly a good person."

"Perhaps she was just a tool carrying out the will of the Main God, like a walking corpse, devoid of her own thoughts."

Haida, the Arab woman who revealed only her light blue eyes, spoke coldly. In an instant, the topic that had just been raised was killed. She placed her hand on a light gate and, mimicking Fang Xiu, began to construct her own private space in her mind.

Before long, the hall returned to silence, with only that sphere of light floating eternally.

"Main God, list all my current earnings."

Lying on the roof of a high tower, Fang Xiu's gaze swept across the Forest of Death. While silently enduring three times Earth's gravity, he continued to connect his consciousness to the sphere of light outside.

Immediately, a response descended. There was no need to open a door and head to the plaza.

It was a small convenience.

[Shazhou Team Captain Fang Xiu, currently holding a total of 1B and 3C rank side-story plots, and a total of 11,347 reward points.]

That was indeed a lot of points.

It was a pity he didn't have an A-rank side-story plot; someone was always wanting more.

Of course, thanks to the extra prompts granted by his captain's authority, the truth was already clear—this opening had actually been perfect. It was directly related to the fact that the original Shazhou Team had been completely wiped out, leading the Main God to deliberately lower the difficulty.

Beyond that, as captain, Fang Xiu could quickly query the Main God about what he could exchange for. For instance, since he possessed the Uchiha bloodline, the most suitable ninjutsu, weapons, and genetic serums for enhancing his combat power would appear when he connected to the Main God.

In this way, he could prevent himself and his teammates from wasting reward points and side-story plots.

Secondly, the captain had the right to learn about the next world one day after completing a mission, obtaining key intelligence. This allowed members of the Shazhou Team to study and familiarize themselves with the plot in advance, carry out targeted enhancements and exchanges, and maximize their survival probability.

Thirdly, he had confirmed certain things and thus learned a few secrets—

Just like the original series, there were seventeen reincarnation teams in this space, named after ancient cities and regions: Zhongzhou, Nanyan Zhou, Beiyan Zhou, Nanbing Zhou, Beibing Zhou, Dongmei Zhou, Ximei Zhou, East Sea Team, West Sea Team, North Sea Team, Yinzhou Team, Senzhou Team, Shazhou Team... along with two special teams.

The Devil Team and the Celestial Team! Likewise, the former continued the settings from the original canon—the Main God collected the genes of the strongest members from each team, replicated them, and formed this team out of a group of perfect clones, who generally lacked any sense of morality...

The latter, however, had changed slightly.

At least when Fang Xiu became captain, the Main God had not asked him if he wanted to leave Shazhou to join the Celestial Team.

"The Gene Lock... perhaps it's related to the method of unlocking? Some people unlock it autonomously, while I relied on external power."

Staring at the distant forest, his whisper echoed before the high tower.

The permanent enhancement from the Main God was actually helping Fang Xiu complete the union of spirit and flesh, the union of yin and yang, and the union of soul and consciousness, allowing his consciousness to merge perfectly with his physical self.

Consequently, he had naturally unlocked the first stage of the Gene Lock, enhancing his physical strength and related resistances.

Some doubts had been resolved.

But there were still things left unanswered.

Fortunately, Fang Xiu did not like to dwell on things. What was happening to him now proved one point once again: as one grows stronger, the truth will naturally surface. Rather than letting his imagination run wild and suffering from endless mental exhaustion, it was better to find a way to become stronger and survive!

So...

--Main God, list all bloodline enhancements compatible with the Uchiha clan.

Exclude enhancements with low growth potential!

Exclude all enhancements above B-rank!

Exclude any enhancements that would cause me to lose my human form!

Sort them by rating from highest to lowest and transmit them into my consciousness.