I Reckon I Can Take Ten (Seeking Follow-ups)

Time ticked away, second by second.

The mechanical arms worked methodically, occasionally swapping tool heads from within the portal:

Sometimes it was a nozzle spraying atomized catalyst, sometimes an emitter releasing energy waves at specific frequencies, and sometimes a straw collecting trace tissue samples.

Oil-Guy had already pulled out a crude data-slate redeemed from the shop for 50 coins; it functioned like an electronic notepad with scanning and recording capabilities, and he was logging every detail.

Tax Brother and Xue Brother went from initial shock to numbness, and finally, they began to yawn.

"This is more boring than watching servitors get oiled..." Tax Brother muttered.

"But it's effective."

Xue Brother stared at Wang Zhong's exposed arm. As the mechanical arms worked, silver light flowed beneath the skin of his arm from time to time, and the muscle contours seemed... genuinely a bit firmer.

At the fifty-eight-minute mark, the mechanical arms stopped working simultaneously.

They slowly retracted, the tool heads pulled back into the arms, and the three mechanical arms retreated in unison into that gear-shaped portal.

The portal began to shrink, the complex mechanical phantoms within gradually fading away.

At the very last moment, Wang Zhong thought he saw a blurry logo made of light flash deep within the portal.

The shape of that logo... looked like an abstract brain surrounded by gears?

The portal vanished completely.

The countdown hit zero: 00:00.

[Basic Physique Enhancement (Type I) modification complete]

[Carrier bone density increased by approx. 12%, muscle efficiency increased by approx. 15%, basic stamina cap increased by approx. 8%]

[Mild metabolic acceleration activated, wound healing speed estimated to increase by 5%]

[Adaptation period begins; it is recommended to avoid extreme heavy lifting or high-intensity combat within 24 standard hours to allow the body to fully integrate the enhancement effects]

[Current Type I enhancement completion: 1% (will grow naturally as the adaptation period progresses and the carrier remains active)]

The force field pinning his body down vanished.

The numbness at the injection site on his neck was also rapidly fading.

Wang Zhong tried to move his fingers.

He could move them.

He slowly sat up from the bed.

His first sensation was... lightness.

It wasn't that his body weight had decreased, but rather that his body felt as if it had shed some invisible burden.

Every movement was smoother, more fluid, and more intuitive.

Although Wang Zhong had long since felt the realism of this game, this kind of physical enhancement—the most intuitive sensation of gaining power—still left him deeply shocked.

He clenched his fist.

His knuckles made a faint popping sound; it wasn't his bones, but his tendons and fascia adapting to the new intensity.

He could clearly feel the power surging in his palm.

"How does it feel?" Tax Brother asked impatiently.

Wang Zhong didn't answer directly. He got off the bed, walked to the corner of the dormitory where construction materials were piled, bent down, and picked up a metal plate that previously required two people to lift.

The plate felt heavy in his hands, but... he could hold it.

He took a deep breath, engaged his core, and actually hoisted the plate over his head!

Although his arms were trembling slightly and his face was flushed, he had indeed lifted it!

"Holy crap!"

Tax Brother's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You call this a 'slight' improvement? System, you call this slight?!"

Wang Zhong put the plate down, caught his breath, and a smile appeared on his face: "It feels... great."

"Is this what it feels like to gradually become a big guy?"

"It's just that the needle in the neck hurt a bit. Even though the system said pain was reduced to 5%, the act of getting a needle in the neck is a psychological trauma in itself."

He rolled his shoulders: "Right now, I feel like... I could punch a bull to death."

"Of course, I mean the degraded beef cattle raised in the Hive City, not one of Khorne's Steel Bulls."

Oil-Guy walked over, holding his data-slate. "The phase-penetration technology, the non-invasive bone reinforcement, and the energy signature of that portal..."

"This is definitely not existing Imperial technology! It doesn't even look like any known xenos tech!"

Wang Zhong shrugged: "The game system gave it to us, so we'll take it."

"At least it's better than being dragged off by the Mechanicus to get cybernetics installed. I don't want to wake up one day and find half my brain replaced by a Cogitator Array."

His remark drew laughter from the other players in the dormitory who had been stealing glances at them.

"Did Brother Loyalty really try it?"

"How's the effect? Can you really become a powerhouse?"

"Is it worth a hundred coins?"

Wang Zhong walked to the dormitory entrance and shouted outside, "Any brothers want to test their strength? How about a tug-of-war?"

Three players immediately swarmed over; they were all fence-sitters who hadn't yet decided whether to undergo the enhancement.

Someone pulled over a tough vine, as thick as a wrist, which had been collected during the jungle clearing earlier.

Wang Zhong grabbed one end, and the other three players grabbed the other.

"Three, two, one, pull!"

Both sides exerted force simultaneously.

The vine snapped taut instantly!

The three players gritted their teeth, digging their heels into the ground and pulling back with all their might.

Wang Zhong planted his feet in a horse stance, the muscles in his arms contracting with full force for the first time since the enhancement, blue veins slightly bulging.

He could feel the force coming through the vine—the combined pull of three adult men—which he definitely wouldn't have lasted three seconds against before.

But now...

His heels felt as if they were nailed to the ground, his body leaned back slightly, and his arms were as steady as hydraulic pistons.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds!

The faces of the three players opposite him turned red, and one of them slipped, nearly falling over.

The vine began to move slowly toward Wang Zhong's side!

"Holy crap! We really can't pull him!"

"Brother Loyalty is awesome!"

"One hundred coins! This is worth every damn coin!"

Wang Zhong let go at the right moment; if they kept pulling, the vine might snap, and he felt a slight soreness beginning to set in his arm muscles—a normal reaction during the adaptation period that shouldn't be pushed too far.

But the results were already clear.

A person who had just completed the Type I enhancement had overpowered three unenhanced adult men in a pure test of strength!

"The system didn't lie."

Wang Zhong shook his arms. "Although the description says 'slight improvement,' in the Warhammer universe, 'slight' is a qualitative change when applied to vessels like us who were originally just ordinary people."

He looked at the gathered players. "I suggest that those brothers with some spare cash should consider getting the Type I first."

"Whether it's for future exploration, combat, or... well, moving bricks and building houses, it's useful."

"But remember, the modification takes an hour and requires absolute safety; it's best to have someone watching."

He paused and added, "Also, based on my feeling, this enhancement isn't instantaneous; there's an adaptation period."

"Don't go looking for trouble immediately after the enhancement. Take it slow and let your body adjust."

As soon as he finished speaking, the players erupted.

"What are we waiting for! I'm going now!"

"I have enough coins! I'm getting one too!"

"Wait for me! Let's go together! We can watch each other!"

"Damn it, I should've enhanced earlier! If I had this strength in the industrial zone, I could've stolen a few more chunks of ore!"

The crowd surged toward the dormitory area.

Soon, silver-white portal glows lit up one after another in the cubicles, and mechanical arms extended out.

The dormitory was filled with a chorus of shouts: "Whoa, this needle in the neck feels so weird," "Don't move, don't move, the game system said you can't move."

"Bro, your expression is so peaceful, are you dead?" and other such clamor.

Wang Zhong, Tax Brother, Xue Brother, and Oil-Guy retreated outside the dormitory.

Watching the bustling scene inside, Tax Brother rubbed his hands together. "I'm getting one too! It's only a hundred coins!"

Xue Brother nodded. "I'll enhance as well."

"But I want to check my Psionic talent first... If my Psionic potential is high, maybe the Psionic path is more suitable."

Oil-Guy was still frowning at his data pad. "The technical source is too complex; it doesn't fit the logic of gene-warrior modification in the Warhammer universe."

"But the modification process itself is safe, efficient, and harmless."

"I suggest all members complete the basic enhancement as soon as possible; it's the fastest shortcut to increasing the warband's overall survival rate."

In this screwed-up Warhammer universe, strength is the qualification to stay alive.

Inside the dormitory, a player finished his enhancement, rushed out excitedly, and punched at the sky:

"I reckon I can take on ten demons now!"