Storm

This message was like a thunderclap, splitting apart all the dark clouds hanging over Bai Yi's heart.

Everything connected. Bai Yi understood it all now—why so many organizations and guilds were recruiting people everywhere.

As long as it was information, word was bound to leak out. A considerable number of players probably already knew about it.

As for why no one had mentioned it on the forums, Bai Yi did not know either. Maybe not everyone had such a spirit of selflessness.

Compared to spreading the news for a bit of fame, quietly making a fortune was probably the choice of more people!

Likewise, Bai Yi understood why Wang Ziyi and the logistics department behind her were putting so much effort into recruiting him.

His combat strength could provide them with protection!

Now, Bai Yi had nothing left to worry about.

"Bai Yi: Let me make something clear first. My base attributes aren't high. My combat strength comes from my weapons and talent. Think it over carefully. I don't want us to part on bad terms in the end."

The other side fell silent for a while. Bai Yi guessed she was discussing it with others.

"Wang Ziyi: It's fine. No matter what, strong is strong! Welcome aboard, Dog Bro..."

"Bai Yi: Wait. I have one more condition. I'll only join after a reliable way for us to meet appears, because I'm not sure whether this information is true, and I don't like taking advantage of others."

"Wang Ziyi: Deal!"

This time, she replied instantly, seemingly not worried about Bai Yi's concerns at all.

"Looks like she's very confident in this information..."

Bai Yi did not continue chatting. After receiving the injection and sending Wang Ziyi some jerky, he put down the log and began his training for the day.

"Hopefully, the rain stops tomorrow!"

With the sound of rain outside, Bai Yi fell peacefully asleep.

[Weather: Heavy Rain
Location: Misty Land
Time: Morning
Temperature: 10–15°C]

"Rumble—"

Bai Yi was jolted awake by thunder. He raised his head and looked out the window.

Thunder tore through the sky as rain, wrapped in the wind's mournful howls, poured down. Dense pattering sounds crackled across the roof and ground.

The bark of nearby trees had been washed into twisted dark-brown patterns. The moss, swollen with water, had collapsed into trembling patches of green fuzz. The grains on it kept shaking. Looking closely, they were actually wriggling nonstop!

And rather than dispersing the eerie fog, the downpour only made it thicker.

It spread between heaven and earth, making it impossible to judge the time.

Seeing this scene, Bai Yi knew there was no way he could go out today.

He got up, did some simple warm-up exercises, casually ate a few bites, and started training.

His attributes had increased again this morning.

[Bai Yi: Healthy]

[Age: 30]

[Strength: 4.4]

[Mental: 9.1]

[Constitution: 4.4]

[Sanity: 100/100]

[Talent: Steel Spine Will]

With plenty of meat intake and exercise, Bai Yi's attributes had grown considerably.

But Bai Yi had discovered the night before that he could not see very clearly after dark, and large patches of dead skin had appeared on his feet.

At first, Bai Yi thought he had contracted some strange disease and was terrified. In the end, the ever-reliable teachers of the forum gave him the answer:

Vitamin deficiency!

The post also mentioned that animal organs could replenish vitamins.

This time, Bai Yi was dumbfounded. He had already thrown all the organs into the Wishing Well.

With no other choice, Bai Yi traded another two units of meat for a bottle of multivitamin tablets.

Bai Yi now had 105 units of meat left, all of which had been air-dried into jerky.

It was now the sixth day. There were only two days left until the novice protection period ended. He could not go out today, and he had no idea when the rain would stop.

This sense of urgency plunged Bai Yi into deep anxiety. He could only keep training, striving to become stronger as soon as possible instead of relying solely on that ten-minute talent.

The day slipped away amid the sound of rain.

Bai Yi trained three times today. He spent the rest of the time eating meat to quickly restore his body.

Hard work paid off. Bai Yi's Strength and Constitution successfully rose to 4.7.

Only his Mental remained at 9.1. The previous life-and-death crisis had only increased it by 0.1, and it had not budged since.

The forum's analysis of Mental was all speculation as well. The prevailing view was that it could be raised by overcoming various negative states, such as near-death experiences, pain, and loneliness.

That was interesting, because Bai Yi had no psychological negative emotions at all. If anything, his mindset was positive—every day alive was another day earned.

He could not exactly go looking for a near-death experience. One bad move and near-death would become actual death, and then there would be nowhere to cry.

Besides, Bai Yi did not think that theory was quite right. He had used his talent so many times that he was practically used to the pain that came with it, yet his Mental had not increased at all.

Thinking of this, Bai Yi shook his head. "I'll just take it one step at a time."

The rain was still falling, but it seemed to have weakened somewhat. The log showed that it was already night.

He had not encountered any danger today, so Bai Yi prepared to put his earlier idea into practice: training with his talent activated!

"Steel Spine Will, activate!"

[Steel Spine Will activated. Sanity -90. Current Sanity: 10/100. Received a 2.5x boost.]

[Warning! Your Sanity is below 30. You have descended into madness. You have suffered slight cognitive distortion.]

[Immunity granted.]

[Strength: 10/4.7] [Constitution: 10/4.7]

There was not a second to waste. Bai Yi immediately began high-intensity training.

Since the highest Strength and Constitution currently recorded in the posts was only 8.5, Bai Yi doubled that benchmark for himself, exhausting himself with every movement before switching to the next exercise.

[Steel Spine Will effect ended. Sanity restored to 100/100.]

Ten minutes passed in an instant. The moment his talent ended, Bai Yi collapsed face-first onto the ground. The massive buildup of lactic acid in his muscles made him feel both alive and dead.

He tried to stand up, only to find that he could not even control a single finger.

At the same time, Bai Yi felt the food he had eaten that evening being rapidly digested and broken down, then distributed throughout his body.

His brain also sent out a warning that it was about to enter dormancy.

"Good thing I ate enough before I started!"

That was Bai Yi's final thought before falling asleep.

[Weather: Clear
Location: Misty Land
Time: Morning
Temperature: 15–18°C]

Bai Yi sat up from the bed. (After being awakened by the cold on the floor last night, Bai Yi had dragged his barely mobile body onto the bed.)

His body was still slightly sore, but it no longer affected normal movement.

Bai Yi nodded in satisfaction and opened his panel.

[Strength: 5.5] [Constitution: 5.5]

Even Bai Yi was somewhat surprised by the terrifying effect. He had not expected training to be this effective.

"I'll do this a few more times when I get the chance!"

With that thought, Bai Yi began warming up.

Today was the last day of the novice protection period, and the rain outside had finally stopped.

Bai Yi had to stockpile as many supplies as possible in the remaining time. No one knew what dangers they would face after the protection period ended.

[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged), Durability: 5/5]

[Tang Dao, Durability: 100/100]

[Shoddy Stone Axe, Durability: 10/50]

Bai Yi stood at the entrance of the shelter, spinning the gun in his left hand, gripping his blade in his right, with the log tucked at his left waist and the stone axe hanging at his right.

Fully armed, Bai Yi stepped out of the shelter.

"Heading out. Time to hunt!"

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you can find it next time.