Asking Around

A moment later, everyone had drunk the broth.

Yu Feng's expression softened a little, and he went back to guiding them through the Breathing Method.

The Earth Dragon Soup really did help.

Chen Chong felt warmth coursing through his body. He practiced three times in a row without becoming so exhausted he couldn't go on. The others were making noticeably faster progress, too.

"Three parts training, seven parts eating. You've already gotten the hang of the Breathing Method. If you had Earth Dragon Soup every day... putting the side effects aside, you might quickly reach the threshold of a 'realm.'"

Chen Chong mused.

He didn't know what a realm was, but he could feel that the Earth Dragon Soup had indeed taken him a step further.

Setting aside its drawbacks, it was a good thing.

Were they really providing it to them for free?

If they only wanted to control their subordinates, there had to be more cost-effective ways to do it.

Besides, given how they had brought them in and what Yu Feng had implied, it didn't seem like they were recruiting them for security work.

So what was it for?

The more Chen Chong thought about it, the worse his premonition became.

He took a deep breath, steadying the pressure that seemed to blanket his heart like dark clouds.

Whatever happened, getting stronger in this situation couldn't be a bad thing.

"Phew—"

Chen Chong exhaled a long breath and completed another full cycle of the Breathing Method.

His body was hot, his muscles taut, and he could feel a powerful strength he hadn't possessed before.

Though that force would slowly fade as the effects of the Breathing Method wore off, some of it entered his body through his breathing and blood circulation, genuinely improving his physical strength.

After just one morning, Chen Chong could already feel a noticeable improvement in his fitness.

"That's enough. You've learned the Breathing Method. Too much of a good thing can be harmful, so we'll stop here for the morning."

Yu Feng said.

His poker face remained impassive, but the hand clasped behind his back had unconsciously curled into a fist.

He'd been an instructor at Thunder Dragon Park for a long time, but he'd never seen anyone learn the Breathing Method in a single morning like Chen Chong.

Chen Chong's reflection lingered in his eyes. No one could tell what he was thinking.

Li Xiaoguang and the other two looked at Chen Chong with complicated expressions.

Even after drinking the Earth Dragon Soup, they had made some progress, but they'd probably need another full day just to learn the method, let alone master it as Chen Chong had.

Anyone who trained at Dragon Tiger Leopard had at least decent physical fitness. The few of them had likely been selected by Yu Feng because they seemed capable of learning the Breathing Method, so their aptitude was considered pretty good. They hadn't expected Chen Chong to be so far ahead of them.

"You shouldn't practice the Breathing Method too much in one day. Come back at one this afternoon and train in something else. You can eat on the second floor."

Following Yu Feng's instructions, the five of them went up to the second floor of the small building.

This was the cafeteria, and the third floor would be their dormitory.

As for Yu Feng, he left the building, presumably to eat somewhere else.

When Chen Chong reached the second-floor cafeteria, he saw that it was just like an ordinary buffet. Besides the cooks, a few men were eating there, looking them up and down.

To be cautious, Chen Chong and the others didn't approach them. They each took a tray and went to get food.

The meal was decent, with both meat and vegetables, and a fair number of options—

It still wasn't as good as the meal Brother Leopard had ordered at Shuxiang Garden, but they understood now that he'd gone all out to keep them hooked.

Once the fish had taken the bait, there was no need to use expensive bait anymore.

The problem was, even this food was rationed.

"One serving per person. If that's not enough, go get Nutrient Paste over there."

The middle-aged woman with a face full of rolls of fat impatiently tapped her ladle, then let a few extra bits of fatty meat fall in before serving Chen Chong.

Chen Chong looked at the pitiful amount of food on his tray, then at the window beside him.

Green toothpaste-like tubes of Nutrient Paste were piled high there, untouched.

Frowning, he picked up two tubes and checked the label... There was nothing on it. It was an unbranded product.

This kind of meal replacement was popular in the city, too. It was like an upgraded version of hardtack.

Cheap, nutritious, and unpleasant to eat—those were its three defining traits.

But Chen Chong had plenty of classmates whose families were even worse off. Nutrient Paste had been their main food since childhood.

For many poor people, it wasn't a meal replacement. It was their staple food.

But this stuff didn't even have a label. It was probably a shoddy product from a Settlement, worse even than the discounted goods in city supermarkets.

So this was what they meant by "enough to fill you up."

There wasn't much Chen Chong could do. He returned to the corner where the other three were sitting and wolfed down the proper food on his tray before twisting open a tube of Nutrient Paste.

It tasted about as good as toothpaste, too.

Chen Chong frowned as he watched his progress rise from 70% to 71%. After digesting a bowl of Earth Dragon Soup, it had already reached 70%.

"Unbranded stuff. The nutrition seems worse, too. It barely fills you up."

He got up and grabbed another handful of Nutrient Paste, drawing surprised looks from the woman and some of the burly men nearby.

A lot of them would rather go hungry than eat this stuff. Was this guy really that unpicky?

Li Xiaoguang and the others had already gotten used to it. They were quietly discussing the situation.

"So we're stuck here?"

"Don't even think about it. Yu Feng said that Black Water was stronger than T-Powder. Even if they let you go, you'd come right back."

Wang Li shook his head and tugged at his hair.

"We're finished. And it's all your fault for drinking so eagerly."

He looked at Chen Chong reproachfully. Chen Chong kept his head down and chewed on the Nutrient Paste, ignoring him completely.

The stuff was indeed awful, and Chen Chong had to steel himself to eat it one mouthful at a time.

But he needed food.

The Breathing Method worked quickly, but as his physique improved, it placed a heavy burden on his body, just as Li Xiaoguang and Yu Feng had said.

With his keen physical awareness, Chen Chong could sense a faint ache and fatigue deep inside him.

Those were the side effects of the Breathing Method.

His physique wasn't as solidly built as Li Xiaoguang's, and he couldn't yet handle the strain of the Breathing Method. The Earth Dragon Soup alone couldn't fully make up for it.

Over time, his body might seem to grow stronger, but hidden injuries would accumulate until he was like a hollow tower, ready to collapse at the slightest gust of wind.

Still, as long as he had enough food...

Chen Chong watched the number in front of him slowly increase. The hidden injuries inside his body were indeed being repaired, much like the soreness after a workout.

That put his mind at ease and filled him with anticipation.

Yu Feng had said that even Li Xiaoguang and the others shouldn't practice the Breathing Method for more than an hour a day when they were just starting out. Otherwise, they'd damage their bodies, too.

But if Chen Chong ate enough, he wouldn't have to fear the strain. He could practice the Breathing Method for far more than an hour each day.

Combined with the way the food itself strengthened him, his power would improve by leaps and bounds over the next few days!

And—

The side effects of the Breathing Method weren't a concern. But what about the Earth Dragon Soup?

After all, his ability to digest food was beyond anyone's imagination.

Yesterday, all the trainees had been drugged. Chen Chong hadn't been spared just because he hadn't drunk alcohol, but he'd woken up halfway through.

Maybe it was because he hadn't drunk, but Chen Chong still suspected he was probably somewhat resistant to harmful drugs.

As for the Earth Dragon Soup...

Still, even if he couldn't completely resist it, he'd had no choice but to drink it under the circumstances.

Chen Chong opened another tube of Nutrient Paste.

In any case, he had to eat his fill every day.

The faster his progress increased, the stronger he'd become, and the more likely he'd be to escape this place.

Besides, his progress was already close to 100%. He was curious about what would happen when he reached it.

The other three continued whispering.

Wang Li talked about how terrifying Heaven Powder was while blaming Chen Chong.

Li Xiaoguang spoke up for Chen Chong.

"Don't blame Chen Chong. Given the situation, who would dare refuse to drink?"

"Maybe if we'd taken our time, we could've negotiated."

Wang Li muttered.

It wasn't that he completely failed to understand the logic, but being trapped left him wanting someone to blame. He could only take it out on others.

Liu Hetao scratched his head. He wanted to smooth things over, but he was too tongue-tied to know what to say. All he managed was a simple, honest suggestion:

"Let's eat first. This stuff fills you up."

Wang Li glanced at the Nutrient Paste in his hand, looked disgusted, and shook his head.

"Even a dog wouldn't eat that."

"In my opinion, we all ended up in this hellhole together, so we should stick together. If anything happens, we should discuss it and face it together. Otherwise, life here will be tough."

Li Xiaoguang spoke up. Liu Hetao nodded repeatedly, thinking he was right.

Wang Li looked at him and sneered.

"I've heard that before. You trying to be the boss?"

Li Xiaoguang frowned.

"I'm saying we should discuss things together. What boss? Don't bring your gang culture here."

"That doesn't work here. You're in a criminal organization, not some gang you've seen before."

Wang Li sneered.

Li Xiaoguang took a deep breath.

"Fine. If you don't think we need to stick together, you can sit somewhere else."

Wang Li spat.

"Why the hell should I listen to some little kid like you?"

He made a big fuss, but didn't move an inch.

Seeing that, Li Xiaoguang decided not to stoop to his level. He just frowned and said:

"We've only just settled in. For now, it seems like we can train, which is better than what happened to the others who went into the factory. But the problem is, there's no such thing as a free lunch, especially not here.

"Yu Feng said we had to train hard to stay alive. What does that mean? If they just wanted us to join their security team and work for them... I don't think that's it. We've already had the Earth Dragon Soup. Even if we hadn't, we wouldn't dare disobey."

Chen Chong finally finished thinking through his own situation and glanced at him.

That was what he'd been thinking, too.

Wang Li seemed to agree and nodded repeatedly, no longer interrupting.

When Li Xiaoguang saw that everyone was looking at him, he lowered his voice.

"In my opinion, our most urgent task is to figure out what's going on. What exactly do they want us to do?"

"Yeah, what do they want us to do?"

"Exactly."

"Why don't we use our free time to ask someone?"

Chen Chong said. He tilted his head and glanced around.

"These people nearby probably know. They live in this building, after all."

"That makes sense."

Liu Hetao nodded repeatedly.

Wang Li glanced at Liu Hetao.

"If you think everything's so obvious, why don't you go ask?"

"Huh? Me?"

Liu Hetao pointed to himself, stammering like Benbaba.

He looked at the fierce men around them. No matter how much Wang Li urged him, he couldn't bring himself to get up.

Liu Hetao had dropped out of elementary school and made a living doing odd jobs for years. He wasn't very bright. But though he seemed simple-minded, he'd been around long enough to know better than to let someone use him as a pawn.

They didn't know anything about the people here, and it was hard not to feel wary of them.

Chen Chong and Li Xiaoguang hesitated, too.

Wang Li looked around, spat, and cursed under his breath.

"A bunch of cowards!"

"If you're not a coward, why don't you go?"

Li Xiaoguang gave him a sidelong glance.

Wang Li hesitated, then snorted.

"If you're telling me to go, then I'd look like a fool if I did."

Chen Chong glanced at him and smiled.

"Brother Li, you're the most worldly of us. If even you don't dare go, we sure don't dare pump these big guys for information. You're the only one who can handle this."

Wang Li liked what he heard.

"You've got more sense than the others."

"I'm being sincere."

"Fine, I'll go. Your Brother Li has to take care of this himself!"

Wang Li slapped the table, stood up, and went to question a burly man eating in the distance.

Seeing Li Xiaoguang's admiring look, Chen Chong said:

"He's easy to flatter."

They were too far away to hear what was being said. They could only see the burly man wearing an ambiguous expression, while Wang Li's face kept changing.

A moment later, Wang Li hurried back, his face black as thunder.

"Fuck! I know what they want us to do!"