Progress

The palm-sized steamed buns had been soaked through with golden oil. After being steamed again, they gave off billows of heat and filled the air with their fragrance.

Chen Chong wolfed down two at a time, eyes narrowing with contentment.

The other dishes in the cafeteria were all perfectly ordinary, morning, noon, and night. But these buns were genuinely good.

Especially after the workout had worn him out a little, and he'd beaten the defiant ones into submission. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the food tasted even better.

Most of the fighters had returned to the cafeteria. Watching Chen Chong eat with such gusto, they wore complicated expressions.

There was envy and jealousy in those expressions, but unlike before, no one was unconvinced.

And seeing how delicious Chen Chong found the food, and how much he could eat, the other fighters inexplicably felt a little reassured. He looked like he might actually finish it all by himself.

He really did love food.

That was fine. At least he wasn't like Zhang Yao, who'd just been putting on airs and wasting their food.

Chen Chong wasn't that shameless. If he hadn't genuinely needed the food, there'd have been no point in doing this.

But now that he'd grasped the rules of survival here, all he wanted was to get stronger as quickly as possible, so he could stay alive a little longer in this Wasteland. And a little longer still.

As for everyone else, if they'd been able to fill their stomachs with Nutrient Paste before, they wouldn't starve now.

Chen Chong wasn't a bad person, but he couldn't be a good one, either. He could only look after himself first.

On the other side of the cafeteria, there was also a steaming meal on the table. Seated there was one of the few female fighters here.

She had a man's short haircut, a square face, and androgynous features. With a calm gaze, she sipped her porridge slowly and attentively.

The bowl was nearly empty, but she lifted it and stuck out her tongue to lick it clean, not letting a single grain of rice go to waste.

Chen Chong had taken a meal according to the portion Zhang Yao used to claim, but Zhang Yao hadn't taken everything.

That wasn't because Zhang Yao was kindhearted. He simply couldn't. If even Zhang Yao hadn't taken someone's portion, then that person's strength must have made him wary.

There were only a handful of people like that. If one of them was a woman, she was probably even more formidable.

After all, there were only two kinds of women who could hold their own among men: dangerous ones and dangerous ones.

With half his face swollen, Peng Wei walked over slowly and sat down, speaking in a muffled voice.

"I couldn't beat him."

He reached for something on the plate, but a sharp smack sounded as a pair of chopsticks rapped his hand.

"If you can't beat him, eat Nutrient Paste. It's better for training."

The woman's cool voice came from nearby.

Peng Wei grimaced.

"But that's bad for your mindset! How can you train with a bad mindset? And why aren't you eating it?"

"Because I can beat him."

The woman answered coolly.

Peng Wei immediately grew serious and lowered his voice.

"I heard he's about to fight in the ring again. Zhou Hu specifically picked him. Do you think they'll send you?"

"Zhou Hu? Since you've already fought him, he probably won't send me."

The woman finally finished all her food. She sucked her fingers, still savoring the taste, then said,

"They'll choose between those two. Or rather, it'll be that guy."

"Right..."

Peng Wei's expression turned grave.

"Either way, there'll be a good show. We'll find out in three days whether he's a River-Crossing Dragon or a helpless mud idol."

The woman stood up. She was actually taller than Peng Wei. Her long legs were especially striking: remarkably long, thick at the top and slender below, straight and alluring, yet powerful. She was beautiful, and dangerous.

In fact, plenty of male fighters had once coveted those long legs, even boasting that they'd get to handle them with their own hands.

But as more and more people had their joints broken or were strangled to death beneath those legs, the surviving fighters finally avoided her like the plague.

After breakfast, Chen Chong went downstairs to train.

The first match was over, so Yu Feng no longer came by specifically to coach them.

They later learned that Yu Feng normally didn't spend so long training new recruits.

As the head combat instructor at Thunder Dragon Park, he ranked just below the few bosses. Most of the time, he taught the Security Department's fighters and those from the bar.

Whether he showed up depended entirely on his mood. Even the training that every new recruit had to undergo rarely lasted more than ten consecutive days. The people in the neighboring Training Rooms had long since found it surprising.

He couldn't continue training in the Training Room where Yu Feng had held his big classes, but Chen Chong discovered that he had other privileges.

There were too many people in this medium-sized Training Room. All the fighters at Thunder Dragon were under pressure to survive, and trained diligently, but most of them could only squeeze into this communal Training Room.

For better training conditions, they had to go to one of the smaller Exclusive Training Rooms next door. There, no one would disturb them, and the greater privacy meant potential opponents couldn't get a feel for their abilities.

Chen Chong hadn't had his own room before, but Peng Wei did, and Zhang Yao had one too.

So now Chen Chong had one as well, and no one objected.

And Zhang Yao's legacy went beyond that.

The Earth Dragon Soup, which he'd received every other day, was now served twice a day.

Ordinary Official Fighters seemed to get it only once a day.

On average, at least until his progress slowed again later on, it seemed to boost his daily progress by about another 2%.

His share of the fight purse was also higher. There was no universal currency, but the tokens here could be exchanged for food, medicine, firearms, women, fighting techniques, expert instruction, and all sorts of other things.

Aside from buying freedom, money here was even more useful than money outside.

In a word, Zhang Yao had been living well.

But Chen Chong knew it was only temporary.

He'd been given a three-day trial by Zhou Hu. If he lost his match three days later, everything might be settled at once.

Chen Chong didn't dwell on it. He simply began practicing against the Iron Man Dummy in his Exclusive Training Room.

Two hearty meals had given him plenty of energy. And after experiencing a real fight, however brief, he'd undergone subtle changes in both his mindset and his technique.

During the first round of the Combat Drill, his strikes were already faster and more vicious. He noticed the hesitation that had made him think twice before acting, and immediately cast it aside. After all, there was no room for weakness in a real match.

During the second round, he recalled his fight with Peng Wei and focused on practicing his footwork.

Then came the third round, the fourth... In between, he drank a bowl of Earth Dragon Soup brought by a staff member. Warmth spread through his chest and abdomen, and his punches and kicks grew noticeably faster.

The whole morning passed.

Chen Chong's movements had visibly become more concise, and his footwork was much more decisive.

To an observer, he was simply faster, increasingly difficult to keep up with.

He nodded to himself.

That's about right. I've found a few methods. Now I just need to train steadily. To gain any more insight, I'll probably need more real fights...

Fighting wasn't an exercise routine. It was the art of real combat, so the fastest progress always came from actual fights.

But his next real fight would be in the ring three days from now, and it would probably be the greatest challenge he'd faced yet.

So Chen Chong decided to make good use of these three days to improve.

He'd focused on refining his fighting skills in the morning. In the afternoon, he concentrated on training his Breathing Method.

He'd become quite proficient in the Breathing Method and could practice it alongside the Combat Drill. That would rapidly strengthen his body and advance his level. Three days would definitely be enough to reach the next stage.

As for the tremendous energy demands of the Dynamic Breathing Method, his three hearty meals and two servings of Earth Dragon Soup should be enough to maximize his training efficiency.

As long as he had enough food, with his energy conversion efficiency and his aptitude...

They all thought he'd lose?

Chen Chong didn't think so.