S-Rank Evaluation (Continued)

A hollow sensation spread through his limbs and body, as though something inside him was being drawn out.

But when that force reached his legs, it abruptly stopped, as if confused.

Shen Xing felt a little apprehensive, unsure whether it would work.

After all, he was exploiting a loophole in the system.

If it worked, it would be like finding a bug in the game.

And a company capable of making such a realistic game was unlikely to have missed such an obvious loophole.

Yet after lingering for a moment, the force suddenly withdrew from his body.

Immediately afterward, a ball of dark red light descended from the sky and landed on the mohawk orc in the distance.

By then, the ten orc infantrymen had already engaged the Lost One.

The orcs swung their stone axes, chopping frantically as they howled.

But outnumbered by the enemy, they gradually fell into a disadvantage.

Several orc infantrymen had bloody scratches from the Lost One's claws.

Just then, as the red light sank into the mohawk orc's body, his aura began to surge.

Beneath his green skin, his muscles swelled visibly, and his body rapidly grew taller.

His legs in particular became thick and sturdy, brimming with explosive power!

[Evolution successful! One of your 'orc infantry' units has had its potential raised to common ★★. Agility permanently +10]

[Attribute increases gained from this evolution: Strength +4, Spirit +2, Agility +2, Constitution +3]

"No way, it actually worked!"

Shen Xing froze, then felt a surge of uncontrollable joy.

What this meant went without saying.

He could now use this talent at no cost, getting a free chance to advance a unit every day!

It was like Qin Shi Huang touching a live wire—a truly shocking win!

After completing his transformation from one star to two, the mohawk orc's eyes turned red, as though he had a surge of power he urgently needed to unleash.

"Roar!"

He swung his stone axe and brought it crashing down on one of the Lost Ones.

Its charred body was chopped apart like dead wood, spraying black liquid.

Without pausing, the mohawk orc charged at the next enemy.

He was astonishingly fast, his stone axe whistling through the air as he swung it.

He hacked his way from the village entrance to the bonfire, then back to the entrance, without blinking once!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The Lost Ones fell in droves beneath his axe, greatly relieving the pressure on the other orc infantrymen.

Shen Xing watched from the side, secretly amazed.

The improvement was almost absurd!

Even his own reactions could barely keep up with the mohawk orc's movements.

But on second thought, it made sense.

A common ★ orc had a base agility of 4. Add the 10 agility from Shen Xing's use of Life-Sacrifice Evolution and another 2 from the increase in potential.

His agility had now reached an astonishing 16, nearly three times that of the other Lost Ones!

That was how he could overwhelm them so completely.

Under the mohawk orc's onslaught, fewer than half the enemies remained in the blink of an eye.

Just then, the seven or eight remaining Lost Ones suddenly stopped, black mist surging from their bodies!

Shen Xing was slightly startled, a bad feeling suddenly rising in his heart.

"Fall back immediately. Keep your distance."

Hearing their lord's command, the dim-witted orc infantrymen immediately stopped and ran back with their axes.

Even the mohawk orc, who had been lost in the slaughter, forced himself to stop and hurriedly put some distance between them.

At the same time, waves of eerie sound swept toward them.

"Buzzz..."

Two orc infantrymen who hadn't managed to retreat in time both stiffened, their eyes turning vacant.

-Voice of the Lost: emitted a sound that bewitched the soul, briefly inflicting [dazed] on the target.

"Hah..."

The Lost Ones seized the opportunity to pounce, ready to tear the two dazed orcs apart.

"Roar!"

The mohawk orc let out a booming shout and charged back in, swinging his stone axe and felling the enemies one by one.

The other orcs swarmed in as well, quickly bringing the battle to an end.

[You commanded your units and won a small-scale victory.]

[In this battle, Lost Ones slain: 15, friendly units killed: 0, friendly units lightly wounded: 5]

[Based on the overall assessment, you received an 'S'-rank evaluation]

[You received evaluation rewards: soul stones x12, food x120, Hand of the Void (skill book)]

Shen Xing stared at the pile of resources that had appeared in his inventory, as well as the skill book glowing pale blue, somewhat dazed.

So these were the S-rank rewards? They really were ridiculously generous.

According to Qin Lang, his C-rank evaluation had only given him 4 soul stones and 40 units of food. The difference was a full threefold!

Not to mention the even rarer skill book that came with it.

Sure enough, this first battle was quite important.

Meanwhile, the orcs who had finished fighting lined up again.

They looked at the figure sitting in the wheelchair, awe appearing in their eyes.

Though they didn't know what had happened,

they could vaguely sense that their lord had used some special means to make one of their companions instantly grow stronger.

"Boss... these are... the spoils..."

The mohawk orc at the head of the group walked over and respectfully held out a pile of coins to Shen Xing.

[Obtained: Vinar silver coins x13]

[Obtained: shattered souls x11]

"Pretty considerate."

Shen Xing smiled, then ordered the orc infantrymen to clean up the battlefield.

Next, he looked at the skill book.

[Hand of the Void]

[Quality: blue (excellent)]

[Type: skill book]

[Skill effect: consumes mental power to form an invisible hand that can grab a target or deal a certain amount of slapping damage.]

"The stats are decent, and I can use it without legs."

Shen Xing nodded in satisfaction, then clicked to learn it.

The ancient-looking manual in his hand turned into countless specks of blue light that streamed into the space between his brows. All kinds of incantations and methods of controlling energy appeared in his mind.

Ah, that's the feeling. Knowledge flows into my brain, then flows smoothly right back out.

Just like listening to a teacher in class...

No, wait. This time it didn't flow out. I remembered it all, deep in my mind.

"That's amazing. I actually remembered how to control the energy for this skill."

"Then couldn't I do it in real life..."

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, then shook his head, feeling that he was being fanciful.

Just then, he suddenly felt tired, waves of drowsiness washing over him.

He checked the time on his phone. It was already past seven in the morning.

He had stayed up all night, and playing this game had consumed a lot of energy. He felt completely drained.

"Since it's come to this, I'll sleep first."

He took off his glasses and used his arms to support himself, deftly moving from his wheelchair onto the bed.

He pulled up the covers and fell into a deep sleep.

"Beep beep! Beep beep!"

Shen Xing was woken by his phone vibrating at the head of his bed. He blearily glanced at the lock screen. It was already past two in the afternoon.

A number of messages had also appeared in the group chat.

Loves Cilantro: "Guys, you're all awake, right?"

"Let's get together at the Sichuan Fragrance Pavilion this afternoon. My treat. We can talk about the game too."

Sole Lender Through the Ages: "Sure. I was just worrying about how to create a new character."

I Eat Eat Eat Eat: "Order me a few extra plates of spicy chicken and boiled fish. Make sure they're extra spicy!"

Shen Xing looked at the messages on the screen, a little emotional.

Ever since his legs had become paralyzed, he couldn't remember how long it had been since he last went out.

He also happened to want to talk to them about the game.