Chapter 28 - I Freaking Have You To Thank
Putting his phone away, Chen Yu continued running for another two minutes straight and arrived at the "Portal" Square.
Green City government"s research had been successful, leading to the development of a new protective suit, and so the number of warriors who came to "explore" the city gradually increased.
But the city was still nowhere close to being considered a lively place.
It was still far inferior to the other portals…
Entering the hall, Chen Yu adroitly rented a new protective suit and went to change his clothes. He went up the stairs to the second floor and, without further ado, directly jumped into the temporal rift.
After a moment of trance, he opened his eyes. Scanning the place from side to side, he found that there were more warriors today than yesterday.
[Exposure to lethal radiation: Physique +1; Physical health +1; Immunity +1...]
[Exposure to lethal radiation: Myocardial function +1; Hair quality +2...]
"The effect is really bad…"
Having experienced a triple-digit surge previously, the single-digit rise now made Chen Yu very unhappy.
So, tonight, he was prepared to do something really drastic, and ferociously at that.
He was going to go deeper and try to get close to the source of radiation!
"Hope there won"t be any strange creatures…"
After adjusting and straightening out his protective suit, Chen Yu took a turn and walked through the second metal door on the right. Then, he proceeded along the route from memory.
After walking a short distance, he happened to meet some pretty close acquaintances.
It was the warrior troop that had given him a Geiger counter when he first entered the Foreign Realm.
The only lady warrior in the troop walked up to him and asked, "You come here every day. Aren"t you worried about acc.u.mulating too much radiation?"
"At most I die. It"s really no big deal at all." Chen Yu changed the topic and asked, "So what have you all managed to reap today?"
"We got nothing at all." The leader of the troop pouted dissatisfiedly and said, "This rundown place is the worst Foreign Realm that I have ever seen. I can"t even find a single item of value."
"We are now ready to leave this place." The lady sighed and said, "We can"t find anything that can be sold for money, and yet, we have to suffer from the radiation in this place. Even though we"re not required to pay any admission fees, it"s still not worth it."
Chen Yu was greatly relieved and said, "It"s good for you all to leave. Something like radiation is indeed quite troublesome."
"By the way, give us your WeChat number. Let"s add each other in WeChat. We should keep in touch."
"No problem. 2402214..."
After taking down Chen Yu"s WeChat number, the lady folded her hands together and mobilized the internal strength in her body. Then she said, "Before we part, let me present you with a gift."
That said, golden rays of light radiated from the lady"s body and enveloped Chen Yu, who wore a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"The Martial Law – Light of the Warrior."
[Blessed gains received: Temporary power -13%; Temporary agility -20; Temporary physique -9%; Temporary metabolism -17%; Temporary explosive power -8%; Temporary mental state -16%; Temporary amount of oxygenated blood -16%; Temporary efficiency of Adrenaline release -25%; Temporary vision -17%...]
"…"
After the rays of light dissipated, Chen Yu was stunned.
The lady warrior"s face was filled with exhaustion. Barely managing a slight smile, she said, "We"re all friends. Don"t thank me."
Chen Yu replied, "…. I"ll be sure not to thank you."
The lady said, "Then we"ll get going. May you have a productive day today."
Chen Yu said, "I think I"ve gained enough for the day."
The lady said, "Hee-hee. A mere blessing isn"t much of a gain. You"re too polite. Goodbye, then."
Chen Yu replied, "Goodbye…"
Watching the group of them leave, Chen Yu gradually started to breathe faster, and he increasingly felt like crying.
Originally, he had intended to pay no heed to danger and venture deep in…
But now, he was faced with a tricky situation: all of his attributes were diminishing, especially his agility, which had dwindled by 120%! He could really give up on all hope of going in deep.
If he encountered a fatally dangerous situation, he wouldn"t even have the time to escape… But with the temporary dwindling of his attributes, the "gains" from the radiation, on the other hand, could increase by quite a lot…
Standing in the same spot, Chen Yu was silent for a long time.
His face devoid of expression, he walked towards the depths of the Foreign Realm, his body exceptionally heavy, and said, "What a sin…"
...
He proceeded to walk forward for three hundred meters, then turned left.
Walked forward another hundred and fifty meters. Then turned right.
Another six hundred meters. Then turned left.
Continued to proceed forward another four hundred meters…
Then, he arrived at the location where he"d stationed himself yesterday.
The radiation around this area was quite horrible. Generally, not many warriors dared to venture here.
He casually found a corner and sat down. Then, one by one, Chen Yu took off the layers of protective clothing he was wearing.
[Exposure to lethal radiation: Physique +14; Physical health +15; Immunity +9...]
[Exposure to lethal radiation: DNA resistance to ionization +10; Metabolism rate +18; Comprehensive strength of organs +8; Eyesight +6; Sense of hearing +6...]
[Exposure to lethal radiation: Nerve Cell Strength +9; Myocardial function +20; Muscle tissue +15; Cancerous cells -3%...]
The radiation that once would have "dissolved" him was now nothing more than a mere tickle.
The strength of Chen Yu"s body had long broken through the limits of ordinary people.
Even among the group of warriors, he was considered very strong.
Unfortunately, it would be very difficult for him to further improve significantly…
Chen Yu pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Then, he flicked his right hand, and a dagger suddenly appeared in his grip.
Next, he placed the pointed edge of the dagger against the metal wall and started scratching the wall at an extremely fast speed!
"Swish, swish, swish…"
"Swish, swish, swish, swish…"
It didn"t take long before the tip of the blade turned red.
He used the burning hot sharp tip of the blade to light his cigarette, and with great satisfaction, he took a deep puff.
[Subjected to an attack by malignant gases: Internal strength +8]
"Puff…"
White smoke slowly rose, and under the reflection of the bright light on the wall, the drifting smoke looked extraordinarily fantastical.
"The smoke of cigarettes is blue."
"But why does it turn white after it"s been inhaled into the lungs and then exhaled out again…"
Smoking just one cigarette was no kick at all. Chen Yu took out another nine more and lit them one by one. Then, he stuffed everything into his mouth.
Cultivation under the influence of a [cursed] bug would undoubtedly produce outstanding results, but it also required the consumption of a lot of resources.
One pack of Harbin Cigarettes was close to a thousand bucks.
For now, Chen Yu relied on searching the corpses for cash and other valuables, but this wasn"t a viable long-term solution.
After all, warriors from wealthy families were usually more powerful and were less often "shot" to death in the Foreign Realm.
Besides, with the decreasing number of new corpses to be found, he would soon be cut off from his source of income.
"Still have to go deep in, I guess…"
As he exhaled thick cigarette smoke, Chen Yu"s eyes narrowed slightly.
"But first, I"ll have to wait for this useless blessing to come to an end…"
"c.r.a.p…"
...
At the same time, outside the Foreign Realm...
Inside a conference room on the third floor of [341B s.p.a.ce Portal] Square...
"That"s him."
The man presiding over the meeting pressed the pause b.u.t.ton on the remote control, and the footage on the big screen froze. The person shown on the screen was none other than Chen Yu!
"Every day, around ten o"clock at night, this person enters the Foreign Realm and leaves around seven o"clock the next morning. He"s been doing this for half a month, unwaveringly and regardless of circ.u.mstance."
At the main seat of the conference room, a bald man dressed in a suit asked in a low voice, "And then?"
"Except for him, any other warrior entering this Foreign Realm goes to the hospital for a medical checkup to prevent himself from being over-exposed to radiation. But this man comes here so diligently and yet has never gone for a single medical checkup. It"s just so strange. It"s like he"s not the least bothered about the radiation, and it doesn"t make sense at all."
"What you say makes sense." The man in the suit nodded.
"And also…" The man presiding over the meeting paused for a moment. Then he pressed a b.u.t.ton on the remote control, and several pages of reports appeared on the screen. "These are the doc.u.ments that I obtained from the martial arts school that he frequents," he said. "Please take a look, everyone."
The man in the suit picked up his gla.s.ses and put them on, then said, "Zoom in."
"Ok." The host zoomed in on the image and explained, "Although this man clears all his data after each test, professionals can still retrieve the residual data. Then, after some piecing together, the data can still be read. His internal strength and physical qualities are climbing at a terrifying rate every day."
The man in the suit slowly stood up and stared at the changes in the numbers on the doc.u.ments. His pupils contracted as he started to say, "This is impossible…"
"Yes." The host nodded and said, "This kind of increase has never happened in the recorded history of martial arts…"
Inside the conference room, everyone was looking at one another. None dared utter a single word.
"Which is why I"m guessing…" The host switched off the display screen and said, "He must have gotten some kind of benefit from within the Foreign Realm."
"…" After a long pause, the man in the suit took off his gla.s.ses and spoke in a hoa.r.s.e voice, "Dig up everything you can about this person. The rest of you will work out a plan of action."
"Yes."
"Also, the government must never learn of this matter. Otherwise, your entire family will be drowned to death."
"Understood!"
....