Exotic Beast Blood Essence Extract

The hydraulic metal column instantly depressurized and slowly rose.

He collapsed to the ground on his rear, gasping for air, his mechanical left leg spewing thick black smoke, completely dead.

At the same time, Jiang Yue's hydraulic column also triggered the end command and roared upward.

The moment that crushing weight vanished, Jiang Yue's body swayed violently.

He opened his eyes, the muscles in his legs spasming fiercely from excessive blood congestion, but he did not kneel.

Jiang Yue braced his hands on his knees, knuckles white, chest heaving, and forced his spine straight.

"Victory..."

The entire venue fell dead silent.

In the abandoned hangar, only the lingering notes of heavy metal music and the drip of oil from the veteran's prosthetic limb could be heard.

The hundreds of gamblers who had been howling moments ago were now utterly silent.

Everyone stared at the recruit standing in a pool of blood, drenched in gore yet still on his feet at the end, their eyes filled with undisguised shock.

Two consecutive fights, crossing levels to take on a veteran equipped with a prosthetic limb.

Not only had he endured, but he had ground the veteran's prosthetic down until it failed!

"This... is this even human?" a veteran from the execution squad swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his back.

On the high platform.

Butcher Zhang's single eye locked onto Jiang Yue.

After a long moment, his tense mechanical left arm slowly relaxed, releasing a chilling low laugh.

"Hard bones. Excellent force redirection."

Butcher Zhang's voice echoed through the silent hangar. There was no anger from a losing bookmaker, but instead a fervor like that of someone appraising a supreme killing tool.

He swiped heavily on his data terminal.

"Veteran forfeits. Recruit Jiang Yue, wins!"

"One-to-five odds."

Butcher Zhang looked at Jiang Yue. "Your principal, thirty points, multiplied by five, one hundred fifty points. This round had enough flow, so I'll give you the top appearance fee, twenty points."

"Total, one hundred seventy points, transferred over. Go buy some good medicine, don't die in tomorrow's drills."

Ding.

The terminal on Jiang Yue's wrist let out a crisp notification sound.

[Current Balance: 175 points.]

Jiang Yue didn't utter a single unnecessary word, nor did he acknowledge the gazes around him—mixed with shock, envy, and awe.

He lifted his legs, heavy as lead, and stepped off the metal base with difficulty yet unwavering determination.

Xu Bo snapped out of his daze, rushed in from outside the railing, and grabbed the tottering Jiang Yue.

"Won... you really won!" Xu Bo's voice trembled.

Jiang Yue leaned on Xu Bo's shoulder, letting the blood seeping from his mouth and nose drip onto his collar.

In his bloodshot eyes, a trace of cold satisfaction finally flickered.

One hundred seventy-five points.

This fortune, enough to drive any recruit wild, was finally in hand.

As they walked out of the abandoned hangar, the heavy metal roar and clamor were cut off by the thick isolation mesh.

The moment he stepped into the icy metal corridor of the recruit camp, Jiang Yue's steady pace came to an abrupt halt.

Widespread muscle fiber tears, tiny cracks spreading through his bones.

Jiang Yue's body lurched violently, and he pitched forward.

"Jiang Yue!"

Xu Bo beside him reacted swiftly, catching his arm.

The moment he made contact, Xu Bo let out a muffled grunt.

Too heavy.

Jiang Yue didn't look particularly burly, but Xu Bo felt like he had caught a solid block of raw iron.

This was the qualitative change in bone and muscle density brought by [Tough Skin] and the past few days of high-pressure body tempering.

"Carry me."

Jiang Yue's voice was extremely weak, his throat thick with the heavy taste of blood, and even opening his eyes took immense effort. "To the logistics department... to exchange for something."

In his current state, he had no strength left even to walk back to the barracks.

Without high-grade medicine to forcibly stabilize his injuries, he wouldn't even be able to get out of bed tomorrow, let alone continue training.

"Madman, a goddamn madman."

Xu Bo gritted his teeth, stuffed the data terminal into his pocket, and laboriously hoisted Jiang Yue onto his back.

He had never been physically strong to begin with, and carrying Jiang Yue, who was heavier than the average person, made his legs tremble with every step as he gasped for air.

The recruit barracks in the dead of night were deathly silent.

Xu Bo carried Jiang Yue, trudging painfully for over ten minutes, until he finally reached the logistics exchange zone, lit by a stark white glow.

Several massive military-grade automatic exchange terminals were embedded in the wall, radiating a cold mechanical sheen.

Xu Bo leaned Jiang Yue against the metal wall.

Jiang Yue forced his eyes open, raised his left hand caked with half-dried blood, and pressed his personal wristband against the terminal's scanning area.

"Beep—Identity confirmed: Recruit Jiang Yue. Current balance: 175 points."

The screen lit up, and a dazzling list of military-restricted resources cascaded down like a waterfall.

Jiang Yue didn't hesitate for a second. His fingers tapped rapidly across the screen.

"[Type C Deep Cell Repair Fluid]: 50 points per dose. Possesses extremely strong muscle fiber adhesion and bone reconnection effects, rapidly clearing internal bruising and hidden injuries."

"[Exotic Beast Blood Essence Extract]: 100 points per vial. Contains an extremely high concentration of violent cosmic energy. For replenishing depleted vitality in those with exhausted blood and qi. Use with caution."

Jiang Yue directly selected and confirmed.

"Beep. 150 points deducted. Transaction complete."

The balance on his wristband instantly plummeted to double digits, leaving a pitiful 25 points.

This fortune, enough to make any ordinary recruit green with envy, hadn't even warmed Jiang Yue's hands for ten minutes.

Click.

The storage compartment beneath the terminal popped open.

A metal injector glowing with a faint blue light, and a glass vial filled with a viscous, crimson liquid, lay quietly on the tray.

"You spent it all?!"

Xu Bo's eyes went wide as he stared at the two items, unable to help sucking in a sharp breath. "That's 150 points! Even if you kept half to buy high-energy meat, you could eat solidly for half a month!"

"That exotic beast blood essence is too violent. In your current heavily injured state, swallowing it directly will burn through your organs!"

Jiang Yue had no strength to explain.

He reached out, grabbed the blue-glowing [Type C Deep Cell Repair Fluid], yanked off the safety cap, and drove it hard into the muscle group on the outside of his thigh.

Driven by air pressure, the icy medicinal fluid instantly injected into his body.

An intense numbness, accompanied by searing pain, rapidly coursed through his veins and spread throughout his body.

Jiang Yue's body convulsed uncontrollably for a moment, but his tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

This cell repair fluid could be used multiple times, though the cost was steep, and its effectiveness was still unknown.

The medicine began to take effect.

At the edge of his retina, the [Tough Skin] trait, stimulated by the high-grade fluid, started operating frantically, digesting this vast restorative power with unprecedented efficiency.

The torn muscle fibers, wrapped in the medicinal force, emitted a faint tingling sensation.

Jiang Yue pulled out the empty injector, tossed it into the recycling slot, and tucked the vial of crimson [Exotic Beast Blood Essence Extract] into the inner pocket of his training uniform.

"Let's go."

Jiang Yue leaned against the wall. Though his face was still as pale as paper, his breathing had already steadied considerably. "I can move now. Back to the barracks."

Xu Bo looked at Jiang Yue's eyes—cold and clear despite the extreme exhaustion—and shook his head helplessly.