From Igniting Talent to Becoming a Demon God Section 4

The other man was named Zhao Yuanqing. He was about the same age as him, worked at a repair shop during the day, and only came back around eight or nine every night.

Back when Lu Chao had first transmigrated here, he had run a high fever that would not break and drifted in and out of consciousness. Thanks to Zhao Yuanqing taking care of him, he had managed to pull through and gradually adapt to this world.

Stray thoughts flashed through his mind. Lu Chao put on his slippers, took off his cleaner's uniform, and walked into the kitchen.

There was a large bag of sliced bread in the refrigerator, along with several instant heated boxed meals.

There was also a piece of frozen beef prepared in advance. This was his dinner for the day.

"This should be enough, right?"

Based on his previous progress, Lu Chao estimated that this dinner should be enough to bring Glutton's potential progress to completion.

He opened the gas valve with anticipation, heated a pot of water, sliced the meat, and warmed the meal. His movements were just barely practiced enough.

During that time, the smart wristwatch on his hand vibrated softly. A message came in, drawing Lu Chao's attention.

[Your bank card ending in XX92 has been charged 1,000 yuan today. The deduction was successful! Current balance: 8,496.21 yuan.]

[Kind reminder: Your Welfare Loan has been repaid for 12 installments. 108 installments remain. The total remaining principal and interest balance is 110,000 yuan.]

The cold text message entered his sight. Looking at the bank deduction notice, Lu Chao felt a wave of helplessness and pressure rise in his heart.

The so-called Welfare Loan was a mandatory repayment for the welfare institution's past responsibility of raising him to adulthood.

Every orphan, after reaching adulthood, had to pay this fee to the Administration Bureau for ten years straight.

Different welfare institutions and different periods of admission had different costs. The amount the original body had to bear totaled 120,000, and now he had already repaid one year of it.

"Good thing it's interest-free."

"But even so, it's still no small burden."

Lu Chao shook his head silently, feeling somewhat stifled in his chest.

Coming from a welfare institution already made survival difficult. Income was meager, decent jobs were hard to find, and over time, it formed a vicious cycle.

The original body had managed to save nearly ten thousand yuan only because he had been driven by unwillingness, often taking odd day-labor jobs. He had even given up on the idea of practicing martial arts because of it, worried that his expenses would exceed his income and he would not be able to support the repayments later.

After all, once someone lost credit and defaulted, the consequences were often extremely serious. It was very easy for the Administration Bureau to revoke their status as a city citizen, making them lose the qualifications to work and live freely.

"Whew!"

He exhaled a breath of stale air.

Lu Chao forced himself to put those thoughts aside and looked at the cooked synthetic meal and the scalding hot beef.

He did not want those worst-case outcomes.

And now, the only way to break through this was...

Gulp! Gulp!

Holding his chopsticks, he shoveled mouthfuls of rice into his mouth and chewed fiercely on the meat.

Lu Chao was like someone who had been starving for a long time, wolfing everything down while staring fixedly at the panel.

Bit by bit, second by second.

He watched the progress slowly increase, rising from 98% to 99%.

His stomach began to feel full, but he was still eating in great mouthfuls, forcing himself to swallow everything.

Gulp!

Gulp!!

Warm meat slid down his esophagus into his abdomen. Once again, he pushed himself to the limit.

His stomach was round and swollen. He could not eat another bite.

Buzz!

At last.

[Potential Progress: 99%→100%!]

[Potential Unlocked!]

[Talent Specialty Activated Successfully!]

In the living room.

Incandescent light shone down from the ceiling, casting a curved reflection across the surface of the dining table.

As his potential progress reached completion, several prompts instantly popped up on the panel.

Lu Chao's mind shook. He only felt his consciousness being drawn by an invisible force, suddenly entering the depths of his mind.

Buzz!!

His vision changed. He saw a boundless darkness.

And at its center, the illusory figure of a giant stood towering, holding up heaven and earth.

It was as if its bones, tendons, and meridians were formed from countless stars, its body appearing semi-transparent.

Its face was blurry and indistinct, its spine straight, its hands hanging naturally at its sides, and gray, dark mist surrounded its body.

By way of some kind of feedback and sensation, Lu Chao instinctively knew that it was him.

Or, more accurately, it was a reflection of him on the level of his life's essence.

And at that very moment—

Hum!

A faint cluster of flame lit up at the heart of the giant's illusory figure.

A hazy rock-gold light spread out, the radiance almost tangible as it shone into the surroundings.

The dim gray mist to the giant's left was driven back slightly, gradually opening a gap.

A gray badge shaped like a hexagon was revealed. Compared with the giant and the surrounding mist, it seemed extremely tiny, insignificant.

But—

The rock-gold light slowly shone over it, and the badge's color changed visibly, as though some power had been poured into it, filling and lighting it up.

[Talent Specialty: Primary Resilience]

[Quality: Primary—Survival Dimension!]

[Effect: You will gain recovery ability twice as strong as an ordinary person's, including but not limited to physical strength, endurance, energy, minor injuries, and more!]

[Hint: After tempering your physique multiple times, there is a certain chance of advancing to Intermediate Resilience!]

The text prompt appeared, and Lu Chao instantly understood all the key points.

This was the true function of Glutton.

When the potential progress reached completion, it could strengthen the giant's life flame and randomly light up a badge from the four dimensions of violence, survival, foraging, and spirit change, awakening a talent specialty.

Just like the current [Primary Resilience], it was a primary talent specialty of the survival dimension, improving his recovery ability in every aspect.

It could even be strengthened again after his physique reached a certain level, upgrading into an intermediate specialty.

"Hm?"

All of a sudden, a tearing agony erupted inside his body.

Lu Chao's mind was instantly dragged back to reality. Before he could take a close look at the living room outside, he sat in the chair and trembled violently.

Pain!

Pain that sank deep into his bones!!

It was as if invisible hands were ripping at his tendons and bones, reshaping his flesh inch by inch, remolding his blood vessels.

Nearly toppling over, Lu Chao's face turned pale. His hands pressed against the edge of the table as he held on for dear life.

He guessed that this was the price of awakening a talent specialty, and he could feel that his body was undergoing some kind of transformation.

One second, three seconds, five seconds...

His knuckles turned white. Bead-sized drops of cold sweat slid down his cheeks and splattered onto the gray floral floor tiles.

After a full minute of this, just as Lu Chao was about to lose his hold—

All the pain receded like a tide and quickly vanished.

His clothes were already soaked through with sweat. He slumped in the chair, gasping for air, and took several seconds to recover.

Gradually, once that feeling of utter weakness had completely disappeared—

Lu Chao actually felt an unprecedented ease and comfort.

"My body... feels different?"

Wiping the sweat from his face, Lu Chao stood up and spread his still-slightly-trembling hands.

The skin lines were clearly the same as before, his complexion normal, yet an instinct from deep within his life told him that something had undergone a fundamental change.

His breathing seemed deeper and easier, and somewhere deep inside his body, it was as though far more abundant energy than before had accumulated...