Waking Up

Chapter 43: Waking Up

In the struggle against the owl, Xiang Kun had seized the initiative, so the subsequent close-quarters combat was essentially just the owl's death throes. Although he had been clawed and suffered several broken bones, to him, these were merely "flesh wounds."

After killing the owl, Xiang Kun could no longer restrain himself and began drinking its blood directly from the creature's wounds.

Xiang Kun had no measuring cup and didn't know exactly how much blood he had consumed, but it was certainly a great deal.

In the end, he didn't even know how he had fallen asleep.

As for the owl's corpse, which had vanished—leaving not even a trace of blood behind—Xiang Kun had already anticipated this after seeing the feathers disappear earlier.

It was highly likely that this giant owl was a creature that had mutated just like him. Much like how his own flesh turned into fine powder shortly after being severed from his body, the owl's entire body had likely undergone the same transformation upon death.

That powder would dissipate into the air at the slightest breeze, no different from dust.

Xiang Kun checked his body; aside from his tattered clothes, there wasn't a single scratch on him. The injuries sustained during the fight with the owl had already healed while he slept.

He could clearly feel that his physical functions had improved significantly. He didn't even need to perform specific tests; just clenching his fist allowed him to feel the abundant power within his muscles. Furthermore, he could control more individual muscle groups, which was another indicator of his heightened muscular development.

Even more apparent were the improvements in his hearing and sense of smell. Sounds and scents that previously required intense concentration to distinguish or locate could now be captured with a mere thought. His control over his own senses was becoming increasingly effortless.

Clearly, the blood of that giant owl had provided him with immense benefits, far surpassing that of rabbit blood or any other.

It was just like something Chang Bin used to say when they worked out together: "Thirty percent training, seventy percent nutrition."

Targeted training still required targeted, sufficient supplementation to maximize the results of the effort.

However, Xiang Kun didn't further examine the changes in his body or gauge exactly how much his physical functions had improved; he needed to leave this place first.

But he couldn't just walk away.

Xiang Kun searched for any remnants of the owl while collecting his own belongings.

His shoes, the shattered phone, the flashlight, the Swiss Army knife, keys, and even scraps of his own clothing. He even spent a considerable amount of time using his sense of smell to locate the screwdriver that had fallen into the grass.

He checked his appearance; although he was dirty, there were no bloodstains. Both his blood and the owl's turned into powder once dried, making them easy to clean off.

His pants weren't severely damaged, and he had recovered his shoes. Xiang Kun simply brushed off the mud, leaf fragments, and grass, then jogged back, pretending he had been out for a morning run.

This wasn't the first time Xiang Kun had returned to the residential complex shirtless, but last time it was in the middle of the night, and he had encountered almost no one except the security guards. This time, it was morning, and he ran into quite a few residents heading out. They all cast frequent glances at the shirtless Xiang Kun, especially the women; although they frowned as if displeased, their gazes lingered on him for a long time.

Xiang Kun's muscles were extremely well-developed, but at first glance, they didn't look as "pretty" as those of people who focused on low body fat and sculpting. Instead, they looked more like those of a basketball player or a boxer. His abdominal muscle definition wasn't very obvious—no exaggerated eight-pack—and at first glance, they looked more like a slightly curved iron plate. From the back, his V-taper wasn't overly dramatic; while his latissimus dorsi were very developed and wide, his waist was also thick.

However, anyone could see the sense of power contained within this body. This had nothing to do with aesthetics; it was a judgment based on biological instinct.

He jogged into the complex entrance and nodded to the old security guard who was staring at him. Just as he was about to continue running inside, the old guard spoke up: "Sir, did you go to the lake again?"

Xiang Kun paused, stopping in his tracks. "Oh, I went for a morning run, but not to the lake." He was puzzled. He wasn't deliberately jumping into the lake to get wet and covered in mud like last time, so why would he ask that?

The old guard laughed. "Oh, oh. During the morning shift change, Little Li said you accidentally fell into the lake last night. I thought you'd gone back there first thing in the morning... That lake is quite dangerous. Some parts look shallow but are actually deep with thick silt. If you fall in, you sink like it's a swamp. Even if you can swim, it's useless. You have to be careful..." Although Xiang Kun had only moved in a few days ago, his bald head was so recognizable that the guards were already familiar with him.

But the old guard's words made Xiang Kun freeze.

Last night?

Despite the doubt in his heart, Xiang Kun didn't ask further, only offering a brief explanation: "Alright, thank you. I'll be careful in the future."

Back home, Xiang Kun went straight to his laptop, woke the screen, and looked at the time in the bottom right corner:

8:15

He checked the date:

2019/8/11

Xiang Kun frowned. He had encountered the giant owl by the lake, fought it briefly, and returned home after being injured—that was already the early morning of August 11th.

He had left the house again after two in the morning.

By the time he found the giant owl, it was past four in the morning.

The standoff, the fight, and the time he spent killing the owl and drinking its blood were uncertain—there was no way to be sure, as his phone had been smashed.

But it should have been around five in the morning, perhaps a little earlier.

Judging by the angle of the sunlight when he woke up, it should have been around six-thirty.

In other words, he had only slept for a little over an hour after drinking the blood?!

When Xiang Kun first woke up and saw it was morning, he had assumed it was the morning of August 12th. Based on his usual patterns, sleeping for 25 hours would have been normal.

He wouldn't even have been surprised if he had slept for over 48 hours after consuming such a large amount of the giant owl's blood.

But to his surprise, he had only slept for a little over an hour!

Recalling that last time, after drinking rabbit blood while still feeling noticeably hungry, he had slept for 32 hours—far exceeding his usual 25.

Xiang Kun analyzed: perhaps the more the blood satisfied his needs, the higher its quality, and the more he consumed, the less sleep he required?

In that case, was sleep merely compensating for a lack of energy supply?

If he were extremely hungry, to the point of reaching his limit, could he forgo food and solve it simply by sleeping for a long time?

However, when he had conducted his hunger endurance experiment previously, he had endured for 22 hours, feeling only an increasingly intense irritability without any sleepiness. Or perhaps he hadn't endured long enough?

Maybe next time he could place himself in an environment without "food" to conduct this experiment?

After thinking about it, he decided to put this experiment on hold for now. There were more pressing matters, and he was worried that if he really did fall into such a deep sleep, the duration might be too long. If he slept for ten days, twenty days, or even months, uncontrollable accidents might occur. It might even cause damage to his body or affect his mutation process.