Inquiring

A moment later, everyone had finished their broth.

Yu Feng's expression softened slightly as he began to instruct the group on the Breathing Method.

The Earth Dragon Soup was indeed effective.

Chen Chong felt his body surging with heat; he practiced the routine three times in a row without feeling the crushing fatigue he had expected. The progress of the others had also clearly accelerated.

"Three parts training, seven parts nutrition. I've already mastered the basics of the Breathing Method. If I had Earth Dragon Soup every day... setting aside the side effects, I might be able to quickly touch the threshold of a 'realm'."

Chen Chong pondered.

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

Putting aside its drawbacks, it was a good thing.

Why provide it to them for free?

If the goal was simply to control subordinates, there should be more cost-effective methods.

Furthermore, the way they were brought in, combined with the implications in Yu Feng's words, didn't sound like they were being hired for security.

So, what was the purpose?

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

He took a deep breath, steadying the pressure that felt like dark clouds gathering in his heart.

Regardless, there was certainly no harm in increasing his strength in this situation.

"Hoo—"

Chen Chong exhaled a long breath from his chest and began another complete cycle of the Breathing Method.

His body was now radiating heat, his muscles taut, harboring a formidable power he hadn't possessed before.

Although this vigor would slowly dissipate as the Breathing Method faded, a portion of it was being integrated into his breath and blood circulation, truly altering the strength of his physical body.

In just one morning, Chen Chong could perceive a noticeable improvement in his physical fitness.

"That's enough. You've learned the Breathing Method. Too much is as bad as too little; we'll stop here for the morning."

Yu Feng said.

His poker face remained impassive, but his hands, clasped behind his back, clenched involuntarily.

Having served as an instructor at Thunder Dragon Park for so long, this was the first time he had encountered someone like Chen Chong, who mastered the Breathing Method in a single morning.

His gaze reflected Chen Chong's figure, though his thoughts remained hidden.

Li Xiaoguang and the other two cast complex looks at Chen Chong.

Even after consuming the Earth Dragon Soup, they had made some progress, but they likely wouldn't reach the level of mastery even with another full day, let alone achieve what Chen Chong had.

They knew that those who entered the Dragon Tiger Leopard to practice martial arts were at least of decent physical caliber, and they themselves had been specifically screened by Yu Feng as having the potential to learn the Breathing Method. They were considered talented, yet they hadn't expected such a massive gap between them and Chen Chong.

"You shouldn't practice the Breathing Method too much in one day. Come back at one in the afternoon to practice other things. You can eat on the second floor."

The five of them followed Yu Feng's instructions and headed to the second floor of the Small Building.

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

As for Yu Feng, he had left the area, presumably to eat elsewhere.

When Chen Chong reached the second-floor dining hall, he found it was just like an ordinary self-service cafeteria. Aside from the cooks, there were several burly men eating who were sizing them up from head to toe.

Out of caution, Chen Chong and his group didn't approach these men, instead taking their own trays to get food.

The meal was decent enough, with both meat and vegetables, and a fair variety of choices—

Though it couldn't compare to the meal Brother Leopard had ordered at Shuxiang Garden, they understood that the previous display had been an all-out effort to lure them in.

Once the fish is hooked, there is no need to use expensive bait.

But the problem was that even this food was rationed.

"One portion per person. If you're still hungry, go over there and get some Nutrient Paste."

A woman with a fleshy face tapped her ladle impatiently, letting a few scraps of fat fall before serving Chen Chong.

Chen Chong looked at the pitifully small amount of food on his tray, then toward the adjacent window.

Tubes of Nutrient Paste, resembling green toothpaste, were stacked high, ignored by everyone.

Frowning, he took two tubes and checked the labels... there was nothing. It was a generic, unbranded product.

This meal replacement was also popular in the city and could be considered a fortified version of compressed biscuits.

Cheap, nutritious, and foul-tasting—those were its three defining traits.

However, Chen Chong had many classmates from poorer backgrounds whose primary diet from childhood had been Nutrient Paste.

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

But this product, lacking even a brand mark, was likely a low-quality item produced in the settlement, inferior even to the discounted goods in city supermarkets.

So this was how they planned to keep them full.

Chen Chong had no choice. He returned to the corner where the four of them were sitting, devoured the real food on his tray like a whirlwind, and then twisted open the Nutrient Paste.

It tasted just like toothpaste.

Chen Chong frowned as he watched the number jump from 70% to 71%. After digesting a bowl of Earth Dragon Soup, he had already reached 70%.

"A bootleg product; the nutrition seems lacking, and it doesn't fill you up at all."

He stood up again to grab a handful of Nutrient Paste, drawing surprised looks from the middle-aged woman and some of the nearby burly men.

Many of them would rather go hungry than eat this stuff, yet here was someone who wasn't picky at all.

Li Xiaoguang and the others were already used to it, continuing to exchange information in low voices.

"Are we really stuck here?"

"Don't even think about it. Since Yu Feng said that Black Water is even more potent than T-Powder, even if they let you go, you'd just come crawling back."

Wang Li shook his head, tugging at his hair as he said:

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

He glared at Chen Chong with resentment, but Chen Chong simply lowered his head and gnawed on the Nutrient Paste, ignoring him entirely.

The stuff was indeed foul; even for him, it required a bit of mental preparation to consume.

But he needed the food.

He was practicing the Breathing Method very quickly, but as his physique improved, the cost was exactly as Li Xiaoguang and Yu Feng had described: it placed a tremendous burden on his body.

Relying on his keen physical perception, Chen Chong sensed subtle aches and fatigue deep within his body.

That was the side effect of the Breathing Method.

His physique wasn't as solidly grounded as Li Xiaoguang's, so he couldn't fully withstand the Breathing Method, and Earth Dragon Soup alone couldn't completely compensate for it.

If this continued, his body might appear to be getting stronger, but in reality, hidden injuries would accumulate, leaving him like a hollow skyscraper—ready to collapse at the slightest gust of wind.

However, as long as there was sufficient food...

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

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

Yu Feng had said that even for people like Li Xiaoguang, one shouldn't practice the Breathing Method for more than an hour a day, or it would cause damage to the body.

But if he ate enough and didn't fear the burden, the amount of time he could run the Breathing Method each day would far exceed one hour.

Combined with the strengthening effects of the food itself, his strength would improve at a meteoric pace over the next few days!

And there was more—

The side effects of the Breathing Method were not a concern, but what about the Earth Dragon Soup?

After all, he possessed an unimaginable digestive capacity.

Yesterday, all the trainees had been affected; Chen Chong hadn't drunk the alcohol, but he hadn't been an exception either, though he had woken up halfway through.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't consumed the alcohol, but Chen Chong still speculated that he likely had a certain resistance to harmful substances.

As for that Earth Dragon Soup...

Regardless, even if he couldn't be completely immune, the situation at the time had left him no choice but to drink it.

Chen Chong tore open another tube of Nutrient Paste.

In short, he had to eat his fill every day.

The faster the progress increased, the stronger he would become, and the better his chances of escaping this place.

Moreover, the progress was not far from one hundred percent, and he was very curious about what would happen then.

The three people beside him kept whispering.

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

Li Xiaoguang spoke up for Chen Chong:

"Don't blame Chen Chong. In that situation, who would have dared not to drink it?"

"If we had drunk it slower, maybe there would have been room to negotiate."

Wang Li muttered.

He didn't necessarily lack common sense, but trapped in this prison, he always looked for an outlet for his frustration and could only take it out on others.

Liu Hetao scratched his head, wanting to persuade everyone to get along, but he wasn't eloquent and simply said in his honest way:

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

Wang Li glanced at the Nutrient Paste in his hand, showing his disgust, and shook his head:

"Even a dog wouldn't eat that."

"In my opinion, since we all ended up in this hellhole together, we should stick together. If we encounter any trouble, we should discuss it and face it together. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to survive in this place."

Li Xiaoguang stated. Liu Hetao nodded repeatedly, feeling that what he said made sense.

Wang Li looked at him and sneered:

"I've heard that line before. Are you trying to be the boss?"

Li Xiaoguang frowned immediately:

"I asked everyone to discuss this together. Forget about 'bosses' or whatever; don't bring that gang culture in here."

"It doesn't work here anyway. You've walked into a criminal syndicate; we couldn't compare to them before."

Wang Li sneered.

Li Xiaoguang took a deep breath:

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

Wang Li spat:

"Why the hell should I listen to a little brat like you?"

He shouted fiercely, but his backside didn't budge an inch.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoguang decided not to lower himself to Wang Li's level, merely knitting his brows:

"We've just settled in, and it looks like we can actually practice our cultivation here, which is better than those companions who went into the factory. But the problem is, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and there's certainly none here.

"Yu Feng said we need to train hard to save our lives. What does that mean? If they just wanted us to join security and work for them... I don't think that's it. We've already drunk the Earth Dragon Soup, and even if we hadn't, we wouldn't dare disobey them."

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

That aligned with his own thoughts.

Wang Li also felt it made sense, nodding repeatedly without interrupting again.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Li Xiaoguang lowered his voice:

"In my opinion, the top priority right now is to figure out the situation. What exactly do they want us to do?"

"Yeah, what are they actually after?"

"True."

"How about we take advantage of this free time to ask the others?"

Chen Chong suggested. He tilted his head slightly and looked around:

"The people around here should know. After all, they live in this building too."

"That makes sense."

Liu Hetao nodded repeatedly.

Wang Li glanced at Liu Hetao:

"You agree with everything, so why don't you go ask?"

"Huh? Me?"

Liu Hetao pointed at himself hesitantly, looking like Benbaba.

He looked at the fierce-looking men around them, and despite Wang Li's urging, he couldn't bring himself to get up.

Liu Hetao dropped out of elementary school and had spent years doing odd jobs; he wasn't very bright. But while he looked simple-minded, he had been around the block long enough not to be a complete fool who would let himself be used as a pawn.

No one here knew the others' backgrounds, which made people afraid to make contact suddenly.

Chen Chong and Li Xiaoguang were also somewhat hesitant.

Wang Li scanned them, spat, and cursed under his breath:

"A bunch of cowards!"

"If you're not a coward, then you go?"

Li Xiaoguang eyed him sideways.

Wang Li faltered for a moment, then huffed:

"If I go just because you told me to, wouldn't I lose face?"

Chen Chong glanced at him and smiled:

"Brother Li, you're the one among us who has seen the world. If even you don't dare to go, we certainly wouldn't dare to try and pry information out of these big shots. This is a job only you can handle."

Wang Li felt satisfied:

"You've got more sense than them."

"I'm speaking from the heart."

"Fine, I'll go. Looks like your Brother Li has to step up!"

Wang Li slapped the table and stood up, heading over to inquire with a burly man eating nearby.

Watching Li Xiaoguang's look of admiration, Chen Chong said:

"He's easy to handle."

From a distance, Chen Chong and the others couldn't hear what was being said, but they saw the burly man's expression turn ambiguous, while Wang Li's face shifted through various emotions.

A moment later, Wang Li walked back quickly, his face as dark as thunder:

"Damn it! I know what they want us to do now!"