Full Spread

Over the next few days, Wu Ming barely left the house, single-mindedly hiding in his room to "refine" the virus within his body.

Calling it refinement was not quite accurate. The virus simply burned itself out while driving his Gene Evolution. After all, it was not a perpetual-motion machine; once its energy ran out, it naturally disappeared.

Soon, January 15 arrived. After a full three days, Wu Ming had refined nearly all the virus in his body, with remarkable results—his strength had risen from 689 kilograms to 728 kilograms.

Well, that was calculated in real time by the panel.

After three days, he had naturally figured out the panel's operating rules.

The requirements were not high. At this stage, scanning his physical condition once required only 20 energy. The data would temporarily appear in the blank space of the Equipment Bar panel, consuming 1 energy point for every second it remained displayed.

Unfortunately, the energy stored in his body could currently only be acquired by mounting glucose, with a maximum of just 100 points. So he could not freely use the Attribute Panel and could only activate it when necessary.

However, with his near-photographic memory, a single glance was enough to imprint all the data in his mind. There was no need to keep it open constantly.

That evening, Wu Ming opened his news app as usual, intending to check the latest epidemic updates before cultivating. Then his gaze sharpened as it locked onto two newly posted articles.

At the top was the front-page headline: [Huaxia Epidemic Prevention Department Officially Releases "RR Virus Personal Protection Guide"]

When he opened it, the core content was precisely the four key points he had previously proposed to Zhao Minghui: genetic stability, energy replenishment, physical fitness, and the will to survive. Each point came with clear explanations and specific recommendations, all extremely detailed.

"Not bad." Wu Ming smiled faintly. "With this guide, it should save quite a few lives and reduce the harm caused by the RR Virus to a minimum."

Further down, the second article was slightly less popular.

[Magic City Fully Reopens!]

The headline immediately caught his attention. The article clearly stated that, starting today, travel throughout the city would no longer be restricted, and the coastal areas previously designated high-risk zones would reopen as well.

However, the end of the article also included a warning. It broadly stated that the virus had originated from the sea and advised all residents to stay away from coastal regions whenever possible.

Naturally, this was not a problem for Wu Ming. The Virus Controller talent allowed him to use the RR Virus as fuel for evolution. The coastline that others avoided at all costs was instead the best hunting ground for him.

"Looks like I can finally head to the coast and explore openly."

Wu Ming smiled in satisfaction. The virus in his body had nearly been depleted anyway. It was time to replenish his evolutionary fuel.

Several more days passed in a flash, and before he knew it, January 20 had arrived.

Early that morning, Wu Ming was busy by the beach.

Over the past few days, he had visited the coastal area once every day.

Besides replenishing his body's reserves of the RR Virus, his main purpose was to explore areas with higher concentrations and further raise the upper limit of his Virus Controller talent.

The results were significant. Wu Ming discovered that even in areas near the sea, the concentration of RR in the air was several times higher than in Suzhou Creek.

The seawater itself, however, was somewhat unexpected. The virus content in most waters was actually extremely low, while in a small number of areas, it was absurdly high.

At first, Wu Ming could not make sense of it. Later, he finally figured out that seawater was constantly moving, and underwater currents gathered the virus together, creating pockets of absolute high concentration.

This was especially true near the coast, where countless undercurrents formed one RR Virus gathering ground after another.

Wu Ming's task over the past few days had been to find these high-concentration waters. Every one he discovered was an enormous harvest for him.

Over those five days, he had found three such places.

As a result, Wu Ming's growth rate had nearly doubled. Moreover, the upper limit of his Virus Controller talent had risen to 1,000 kilograms, reaching the limit of his current body.

Beyond this point, even if he encountered an environment with an even higher concentration, that number would no longer increase.

Still, 1,000 kilograms of strength was already enough for Wu Ming—more than enough, in fact. A person only needed 900 kilograms of strength to qualify as a Quasi-Martial Artist and gain the right to absorb Cosmic Energy.

Of course, if he had a choice, Wu Ming would definitely prefer to build up his foundation even higher.

After five days of refinement, his strength had reached 826 kilograms, an increase of nearly 100 kilograms.

He was now only 74 kilograms away from the strength threshold for a Quasi-Martial Artist!

"At this rate, I'll reach the Quasi-Martial Artist threshold in three or four more days at most."

Wu Ming stood on the beach, absorbing the virus while pondering something else.

That was cultivation-related manuals.

His progress over the past few days had been astonishing. With Quasi-Martial Artist status within reach, it would not be long before he qualified to sense Cosmic Energy.

But the problem was that there had been no news from Zhao Minghui. Wu Ming did not know whether Zhao Minghui was simply too busy or whether the manuals he wanted were difficult to find.

"If it comes down to it, once my physical fitness meets the standard, I can follow the original novel and try sensing Cosmic Energy on my own."

"Although the original novel did not provide many details about the cultivation method, it explained some key points quite clearly. Success may not be impossible."

Wu Ming silently thought to himself. But if he had a choice, he still wanted to read the relevant manuals before making a decision.

Just as he was thinking, his phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number. Its registered location was Kyoto.

"Could it be..." Wu Ming's heart stirred as he answered the call.

"This is Zhao Minghui." A steady middle-aged man's voice came from the other end.

Wu Ming thought, Just as expected, then smiled. "It's you, Mr. Zhao. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Sorry, I've been far too busy these past few days." Zhao Minghui chuckled. "But I haven't forgotten your request. I had someone search for a batch of ancient texts, and quite a few of them mention Five Hearts Toward Heaven."

"Really?" Wu Ming's eyes lit up. He had just been thinking about this, and he quickly asked, "How many are there?"

"There are quite a lot. I'll mail them to you so you can take your time reading them. Leave me an address."

Zhao Minghui asked, "Where are you now? Magic City or Shushi?"

"I'm still in Magic City."

Wu Ming thought about it. He probably would not be leaving anytime in the next few days, so he was about to ask Zhao Minghui to mail the ancient texts here.

But at that moment, Zhao Minghui added, "By the way, there are two other things I need to tell you."

"Oh?" Wu Ming asked curiously. "Please go ahead, Mr. Zhao."

"Since you're in Magic City, I assume you know that it has already been reopened."

Zhao Minghui's tone grew grave. "What I need to tell you is that, over the past few days, RR's impact has spread completely. It has now appeared in major cities across the country."

"This includes your hometown, Shushi."

At that, Wu Ming's eyes narrowed.

The virus... had already spread to his hometown?