Madman

After Zhou Bai fussed with her for a while, Christina's fur stood on end. "Have you had enough? Do you know what you're doing?"

Zhou Bai said, "Petting a cat."

"Pet yourself!" Christina flew into a rage. "Cats don't need petting."

"Oh." Zhou Bai hurriedly asked, "Can the Auxiliary System be used now? Or is there some procedure?"

Christina curled her lip, flicked her tail, and jumped onto Zhou Bai's shoulder. Then she viciously smacked the back of his head three times.

"Try it again."

"Seriously? That works?" Zhou Bai asked skeptically. "You're not messing with me, are you?"

"That's what the operating manual says. But I have to be the one to smack you; it won't work if you do it yourself." Christina said, "Believe it or not."

Zhou Bai rubbed his chin, decided not to worry about it for now, and lay back down.

As he lay on the bed again, the Laziness Qi Value on the Auxiliary System finally began to rise. Watching it increase by 1 point every second, Zhou Bai's mood, which had turned gloomy because of the apocalyptic environment, brightened considerably.

Contentedly watching his Laziness Qi Value grow, Zhou Bai looked at the cat lying on the bed as well and smiled. Then he kicked Christina off the bed.

"My cat isn't allowed on the bed."

"Hiss..." Christina glared fiercely at Zhou Bai on the bed. "I only look like a cat. My true nature is far, far superior to cats—and to humans like you."

There isn't a single honest word in that cat's mouth. Good thing she's dumb. Zhou Bai did not care and took none of Christina's boasting to heart. Still, since the Auxiliary System had come with her, he had many questions to ask.

First was the matter of this world. What Zhou Bai desperately wanted to know now was whether this world was his world.

Was this apocalyptic world another realm, or was it the Earth he had once known after it had entered the apocalypse?

But Christina seemed to have truly lost her memory. She knew nothing about this world either.

After asking again and again without getting an answer, Zhou Bai simply turned to asking about the Auxiliary System.

Christina said, "Don't ask me. The operating manual I was given only had one sentence... if something goes wrong, pat your head."

Zhou Bai said, "Huh? Then what do Daoization Degree, Primordial Spirit Value, and Divine Map actually mean? Explain them to me."

Christina said, "That, I do know." Flicking her tail, she said unhappily, "But the floor is so cold..."

With a thought, Zhou Bai used his Primordial Spirit power to toss Christina onto Elsa's bed. Elsa was still sleeping soundly, showing no sign of waking up, while Christina comfortably rolled around once and sprawled into a cat-fur blanket.

Zhou Bai said, "Tell me what Daoization Degree, Primordial Spirit Value, and Divine Map are."

When Zhou Bai had used the Auxiliary System for the first time, Christina had already said that Daoization Degree represented one's realm, while Divine Map represented one's cultivation method.

"If I explain it in detail, Daoization Degree represents your synchronization rate with the Heavenly Dao. The higher the synchronization rate, the greater the power you can obtain and the stronger the divine abilities you can cultivate."

"You should already understand Primordial Spirit Value somewhat. It is the numerical representation of Primordial Spirit power. Primordial Spirit power is the strength cultivators can develop after drawing in Spiritual Machine and becoming one with Heaven. When cultivated to profound depths, it has boundless wondrous uses. It is a cultivator's most fundamental power."

"As for Divine Maps, they're cultivation methods, like secret manuals or divine arts. The Divine Maps cultivated at each realm differ, as do the directions in which they strengthen you and the divine abilities they grant. They are means of battle."

Christina smiled. "Do you want to learn how to cultivate? I can teach you." She thought to herself, Hehe, if he wants to learn, I'll slowly make him see me as his teacher. Then I'll take back the initiative bit by bit...

"Not interested." Zhou Bai turned over. Seeing that his Laziness Qi Value had already broken through 100 points, he said happily, "I can grow stronger just by lying down. Only an idiot would cultivate."

Christina gritted her teeth, exposing a pair of little fangs. "This guy... he's really making me mad!" The next moment, her body turned into a cloud of white mist and was once again drawn back into Zhou Bai's consciousness.

Zhou Bai lay in bed for a while. Since he had been too exhausted today, he drifted off to sleep in a haze.

The next morning, Zhou Bai woke up early. He was so excited that his mind was filled with anticipation over how much Laziness Qi Value he would have accumulated after lying down all night.

But the moment he looked at the panel, disappointment appeared on his face.

Daoization Degree: 0%

Primordial Spirit Value: 10

Divine Map: Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man

Laziness Qi: 200

"Why is there only 200 Laziness Qi? I lay down all night!" Zhou Bai said unhappily. "Did I lie there for nothing?"

Christina mocked him from inside Zhou Bai's head. "You can grow stronger even while sleeping. What more could you possibly be dissatisfied with?"

Zhou Bai hurriedly asked her, "What's going on? How come your Auxiliary System is shortchanging me?"

"How would I know?" Christina muttered. "But after thinking about it, there's probably a limit. The Laziness Qi Value you can gain from lying down each day may only be this much."

Through further attempts, Zhou Bai gradually came to understand that every method of gaining Laziness Qi Value had a daily limit.

Just lying down each day could earn him 200 Laziness Qi.

Zhou Bai did not dwell on that now. He could not wait to add points.

"Let's add some more Primordial Spirit power. Dr. Zhuang's Primordial Spirit power was obviously much stronger than mine. A Primordial Spirit Value of 10 is still too little."

With that thought, Zhou Bai focused his attention on the plus sign after Primordial Spirit Value.

In an instant, his Primordial Spirit Value changed from 10 to 11, while his Laziness Qi decreased by 10.

Zhou Bai complained, "Damn, once Primordial Spirit Value goes above 10, the Laziness Qi cost increases tenfold??"

Christina said, "What do you know? Do you think Primordial Spirit power can just grow however you like? For ordinary people, every single point requires extremely arduous cultivation. How could it be as easy as it is for you? Besides, the higher your Primordial Spirit Value, the harder it becomes to increase. How could gaining one point always cost only one point of Laziness Qi, no matter how high your Primordial Spirit Value is?"

Zhou Bai understood as well. It was like bench-pressing for an ordinary person: going from 30 kilograms to 50 kilograms and going from 100 kilograms to 120 kilograms were both increases of 20 kilograms, but the time and effort required were naturally different.

Zhou Bai continued adding to his Primordial Spirit Value, raising it all the way to 20 in one go. His Laziness Qi Value also fell to 100.

With his Primordial Spirit Value suddenly increasing by 10 points, Zhou Bai's head immediately felt slightly dizzy.

Christina said, "Be careful. Don't add too much Primordial Spirit Value all at once. Add it bit by bit, rest after each point, and get used to it. Last time, you added 10 points in one breath and knocked yourself unconscious."

"Dr. Zhuang found me after I passed out? Then how did you get captured by him too?"

Christina said, "Wasn't it because I couldn't contact you? I wanted to go find you, and he happened to catch me too! Damn it, he actually thought I was a cat and wanted to experiment on me. How foolish!"

"..." Zhou Bai nodded. "My Primordial Spirit Value is at 20 now. How about trying to add Daoization Degree next?"

"No!" Christina cried out in alarm, hurriedly saying, "You absolutely must not add Daoization Degree recklessly! It isn't like Primordial Spirit Value. When the Auxiliary System increases your Primordial Spirit Value, it directly increases your power. It's all pure and harmless.

Daoization Degree is your realm, the degree to which you synchronize with the Heavenly Dao. Once it increases, you will directly connect to the Heavenly Dao. If you rashly raise it without sufficient cultivation and cannot adapt, you'll become a madman."

"A madman?" Zhou Bai's gaze flickered slightly, as though something had come to mind.