Shukuchi

Zhang Chengyan's idea of cooperation was that the Investigation Bureau would provide resources, and Lu Chengchuan would provide the effort, each getting what they needed.

Lu Chengchuan was naturally happy about this. The Investigation Bureau had a lot of good stuff, and his need for martial arts was considerable. Cooperating with the Investigation Bureau was the right choice.

"Of course, I certainly hope to cooperate with the Investigation Bureau."

At least he wanted to cooperate now. He wanted to collect as many martial arts skills as possible and kill more monsters to strengthen himself.

"This is our special contact phone. Take it. If you need anything, you can contact Yaning. If we need anything, we'll also contact you through this phone."

After agreeing on the cooperation matters, Zhang Chengyan took out a phone. They communicated internally through special phones. However, Lu Chengchuan was an external person, so the phone given to him was also a 'standalone version,' only able to contact a specific person.

Lu Chengchuan took the phone. They chatted for a while longer, but Zhang Chengyan was busy, and Lu Chengchuan also wanted to check out the two martial arts manuals in his hand. They both had the same idea, and he quickly left the office.

"You were quite impressive this time, fighting the Investigation Bureau and then the army."

"Captain Zhou, please don't laugh at me. Please send me out. I'm afraid I'll be stopped by soldiers on the way." Now that everything was fine, Lu Chengchuan just wanted to leave.

This was the Armed Forces Department, after all, and it wasn't convenient for an outsider like him to move around.

After a joke, Zhou Yaning escorted him out. On the way, Zhou Yaning couldn't suppress her curiosity: "How powerful are you exactly? Is martial arts really that easy to learn?"

Someone who was almost dying became an expert in less than a month. Was that reasonable...?

"I didn't think Captain Zhou was a gossipy person."

"This has nothing to do with gossip. If your experience were made public, nine out of ten people would be curious."

Lu Chengchuan shook his head and didn't speak. Zhou Yaning saw this and had no choice. He didn't want to talk. Could she just grab him, take him back, and force him to answer?

Zhou Yaning escorted him to the gate of the Armed Forces Department: "Alright, go back on your own. I have things to deal with."

"Goodbye."

Lu Chengchuan waved his hand and walked towards the nearby subway station.

Since the appearance of monsters, there had been a team of armed soldiers patrolling every subway station. They had to prevent monsters from appearing and also prevent people with ulterior motives from carrying out terrorist attacks.

Taking the subway home, his mother told him something when she saw him return.

She had bought a secondhand house. They didn't need to renovate it, just buy some furniture to move in. His mother said they would move in these few days and asked him to find some time to go with her to see the new house.

"Oh, I understand."

Lu Chengchuan didn't have much expectation for the new house. His mind was currently focused on martial arts and monsters.

Returning to his room, Lu Chengchuan immediately flipped through the two martial arts manuals.

Soon, with the help of the System, he spent forty days of his lifespan to learn two martial arts.

The Investigation Bureau really had a lot of good stuff. One of the two martial arts Zhang Chengyan gave him was a Mystic Grade martial art, a lightness skill called 'Shukuchi.'

This martial art only had three levels. The first level could shrink the distance by twenty meters, the second level could reach fifty meters, and the third level could reach three hundred meters. This martial art was difficult to learn and master. Martial artists with poor talent could never even get started in their lifetime.

Lu Chengchuan had the System. As long as he had enough lifespan, Shukuchi wouldn't be difficult for him.

The other was an external martial art called 'Bone Contortion.' When mastered, practitioners could control most of the bones in their body, allowing them to shrink or expand their body size.

The two martial arts appeared in the martial arts column, with the words 'Can be upgraded' behind them.

Bone Contortion only required two years of lifespan to master, so Lu Chengchuan immediately upgraded it to the highest level. Shukuchi, on the other hand, required fifteen years of lifespan for the first level, which was a terrifying cost.

But in order to be able to use Shukuchi, Lu Chengchuan gritted his teeth and spent fifteen years of lifespan to upgrade it.

In less than ten minutes, Lu Chengchuan's remaining lifespan went from more than thirty years to fourteen years. He couldn't continue to upgrade the remaining martial arts, so he had to go find monsters.

At the first level of Shukuchi, Lu Chengchuan felt some changes, but he didn't know where the changes were.

He opened the door and saw the end of the living room. He took a step and subconsciously used Shukuchi.

The next moment, Lu Chengchuan saw the scenery on both sides quickly receding. He instantly arrived at the other end of the living room, his body almost crashing into the wall.

The rented house was only fifty square meters, and the entire room wasn't even twenty meters long.

"This is Shukuchi?"

Lu Chengchuan only felt novelty. This thing was beyond his expectations, and the feeling was also very unique. He could instantly cross a distance of several meters with just one step.

However, Shukuchi also consumed a lot of Inner Energy. He could sense a significant consumption of Inner Energy just by taking one step.

When it got dark, Lu Chengchuan left the rental house. He found a slightly secluded place and prepared to practice Shukuchi here.

On the empty little street, Lu Chengchuan looked into the distance. He locked his eyes on a spot about ten or twenty meters away from him.

In the next instant, his figure crossed layers of space and instantly appeared at the spot he had locked onto.

Lu Chengchuan took ten steps in a row, instantly crossing a distance of two hundred meters, and his Inner Energy was almost one-fifth consumed. The Inner Energy consumed by using Shukuchi was really not small.

After consuming half of his Inner Energy, Lu Chengchuan stopped practicing and returned home.

In the first month after the appearance of monsters, at night, Lu Chengchuan stood on the balcony looking at the scenery outside the window.

He had already moved to the new house. The new house his mother bought was on the twelfth floor. The view from his building was very good, with no obstructions. Standing on the balcony, he could see far away.

The city's night didn't allow seeing the moon and stars. Lu Chengchuan only saw sparse clouds.

Just as he was about to return to the bedroom to rest, dots of light suddenly appeared in the night sky. The dots of light appeared very suddenly, and Lu Chengchuan's attention was immediately drawn to them.

The light spots weren't large, and they were very, very far from the ground, but they were exceptionally bright, bright enough for a normal person to see clearly. Hundreds of light spots broke through the cloud layer, and then suddenly exploded like fireworks, rapidly spreading in all directions.

"Shooting stars? Or monsters?" Lu Chengchuan muttered to himself.

Something was off about this; it didn't seem like a normal phenomenon. He couldn't help but associate it with monsters.

Many people in Anyang City saw this scene. They took out their phones to record it, while the staff at the city's meteorological bureau were frantically watching the rapidly spreading 'shooting stars.'

They hadn't detected any atmospheric anomalies. These shooting stars seemed to appear out of nowhere, without any warning. Their superiors were questioning them, demanding that they provide an answer as quickly as possible.

"What's going on? Is it a problem with the equipment? Or did we fail to detect something?"

The meteorological bureau leader was under a lot of pressure. He had received several calls from his superiors, and he wanted to answer but didn't know what to say.

Lu Chengchuan watched as one of the shooting stars flew towards the vicinity of Anyang City. A loud crash followed, and something landed. The exact point of impact was unknown, but it should be not far from Anyang City.

Ding ding ding... ding ding ding...

The phone rang, the ringtone of the Investigation Bureau's dedicated phone. Lu Chengchuan immediately answered the call.

"Did you see the things in the sky? What are they?"

Zhou Yaning's voice came through, with a hint of urgency in her usually cold tone.