Activation

In the Training Room, Chen Chong took the stack of bills Peng Wei handed him and quickly counted them. Exactly four thousand.

He waved the money in his hand. A faint smell of ink drifted through the air.

"Thanks."

"A bet's a bet... But you really didn't do anything to Pei Li?"

Peng Wei asked with a strange look on his face.

Chen Chong glanced at him, puzzled.

"Didn't I ask her for money?"

Peng Wei scratched his head.

"No, I mean, you'd rather take the money than make a move on her? And you only took four thousand?"

He completely understood now why Pei Li had looked so upset.

Chen Chong said flatly,

"Two hundred yuan is enough to spend the night with a former GG model at a bar. Four thousand would keep her for two months."

"Don't tell me you said that to Pei Li too."

"She wouldn't stop asking."

"...And what did she say?"

"That a cheap two-hundred-yuan pussy would rot my dick."

Chen Chong clicked his tongue.

"But I told her I had a pretty strong immune system."

Peng Wei fell silent for a long while, then gave him a thumbs-up.

"Impressive. Good for you."

After Peng Wei left, Chen Chong absentmindedly slapped the bills in his hand again. They gave off that distinctive, fragrant smell of cash.

He hadn't smelled it in ages. Smelling it again now suddenly made him feel reassured and content, especially here.

Of course, Chen Chong wasn't going to use the money to find a woman.

It wasn't that he had no interest in sex. If he wanted to, he could simply cover Pei Li's head; below the neck, she was top-notch.

But it wasn't time to indulge yet. The circumstances wouldn't allow him to relax, and he wouldn't allow it himself. He also had no desire to get entangled in any troublesome relationships with people here.

"Four thousand yuan is enough to buy a bottle of E-1."

Chen Chong looked at the "93%" before him and muttered under his breath.

He'd put most of his money into the canteen, which had helped him maintain a decent rate of progress even in the late stages of the First Form. But with his progress slowing more and more, who knew how long it would take to break through the 100 mark by eating alone?

With nutritional supplements, though, the problem would be solved.

Chen Chong went to the Infirmary again and found the bespectacled doctor. He now knew that the man was the head of the Infirmary, Zheng Changrong.

"Dr. Zheng, I'll take a bottle of E-1."

Chen Chong counted out 3,800 yuan and set it on the desk. That was the price listed on the previous inventory.

Zheng Changrong watched him count the money but didn't move. He only nudged his glasses and said,

"The supply convoy was robbed two days ago. It was carrying supplies for the Infirmary. We haven't been restocked, so every bottle we use is one less."

Chen Chong paused. Even the convoy had been robbed outright? Things were that bad?

But he quickly collected himself.

"Do you still have any E-1?"

"We do. Forty-eight hundred."

Zheng Changrong said calmly.

Chen Chong looked at him but didn't say anything. He simply pulled more money from his pocket and made up the 4,800 yuan.

Fortunately, he still had a little left from before.

But now, he really didn't have enough money even to hire a girl.

Zheng Changrong immediately broke into a smile.

"Just a moment."

He turned, took a small brown bottle from the cabinet, and handed it to Chen Chong.

It looked no different from E-2.

Chen Chong gave it a quick inspection, then left with the medicine. Back in his dorm room, he locked the door and sat at the desk facing the window.

Clouds covered the moon outside, and the world lay dark beneath them.

The entire Wasteland was silent.

"Let's get started, then."

93%... Chen Chong opened the bottle and drank the orange-yellow liquid in one go.

The medicine tasted slightly bitter. It ran down his esophagus into his stomach, and within seconds, it started to take effect.

A cool, tingling sensation spread from his stomach through his body. For a moment, it felt like he had eaten something bad.

This stuff... was potent.

Chen Chong lay down on the bed and relaxed. He closed his eyes, folded his hands over his lower abdomen, and waited for his body to digest the medicine.

94%, 95%, 96%...

The numbers climbed rapidly. Chen Chong could feel the ingredients in the liquid being absorbed into his bloodstream by his extraordinary ability to take in nutrients, then carried through his entire body. His blood began to race on its own, and his body gradually grew hot. The heat seeped into his bones and radiated from his skin. Before long, the bed was soaked, and wisps of white vapor rose from it.

97%...

The numbers slowed a little, but Chen Chong's blood was still rushing through him. He could feel his physique growing stronger, and the number before him continued its steady advance until it reached 98%.

The pace slowed abruptly. The number remained unchanged for a long time as Chen Chong's blood gradually slowed and cooled. Nearly all two hundred bones in his body had been tempered. If he could peel back the flesh and see them, they would have a faint metallic sheen.

99%.

The progress finally reached 99%, then stopped dead.

Chen Chong's body temperature had returned to normal. He had completely digested the nutritional supplement.

E-1 was naturally far less effective than E-2. It had still given him a tremendous boost, but he'd fallen just short at the very end.

Chen Chong opened his eyes and slowly let out a breath.

Just a little more.

Pretty much as he'd expected.

He didn't get up. He only reached over and opened the bedside drawer.

Inside was a whole drawer full of Nutrient Paste.

Chen Chong grabbed a handful, tore open a strip, and sucked it into his mouth.

Since he'd decided to activate the Second Form tonight, he wasn't going to wait.

In the unlit room, Chen Chong leaned against the bed and repeated the same motions: tear, swallow, discard. He was like an emotionless eating machine.

He swallowed strip after strip of Nutrient Paste until his body gradually began to heat up, and then—

100%.

Chen Chong froze, his eyes once again filling with crimson.

Within the Sea of Consciousness.

He floated in the boundless starry sky. Not far ahead stood the Hexagonal Ancient Well.

And in the depths of the Starry Vault, the enormous shadow of an Exotic Beast was already swimming endlessly through space. It emerged from one galaxy and plunged headfirst into another, like a swimmer diving beneath the surface. The galaxy it entered began to go dark before his very eyes.

The shadow's hideous head emerged from a nebula and gave a "gentle" shake. The entire starry sky began to tremble. Its body was made of stars, every part of it shimmering with dazzling light. Its crimson eyes shone over a cluster of stars beside its head. It stared fixedly, then opened its mouth and swallowed the whole cluster, as casually as a gazelle turning its head to eat fruit from a tree.

Chen Chong watched the Star Beast hunt, unable to tell whether an instant or an eternity had passed.

It seemed eternally hungry and never stopped moving. But at some point, it finally noticed the tiny gaze coming from a corner of the universe and turned its attention toward him.

Chen Chong's eyes could not contain its shadow. The red light in its eyes shone upon him.

Deep inside Thunder Dragon Park.

In a luxurious villa, Long Zhibin stood ramrod straight with his arms folded before a huge map on the study wall. He wore gold-rimmed glasses.

Brother Leopard stood nearby with a sheet of paper, frowning as he reported,

"A supply truck from Yongchuan went missing yesterday. Our informant in the Skull Gang reported last night that a truck had arrived at a warehouse outside their town.

"This is the third time this week. And that's on top of what happened at the Hunting Grounds... Boss, what should we do?"

Long Zhibin stared silently at the map of the town for a while, his gaze fixed on the conspicuous skull marking. Then he said firmly,

"Wait."

"Still wait? The rest is manageable, but the Earth Dragon stock is almost gone. A lot of people downstairs have heard the news, and some are getting restless."

Brother Leopard said anxiously.

Long Zhibin replied calmly,

"I have other arrangements... Hmm?"

He suddenly stopped and whipped his head toward the window.

Brother Leopard watched in confusion as Long Zhibin strode to the window, then stood motionless, saying nothing for a long time. He went over to look too, then stared in shock.

Over the Wasteland, the clouds that had lingered in the sky all year had suddenly vanished. The night above was like black velvet, strewn with stars that shone like diamonds.

The stars filled the entire night sky, each shining with all its might.

It was as if the entire universe were shining together.