Chapter Two: Unique Room for Advancement

Because of the sudden turn of events, not only did Ye Chen become the Awakened he had always dreamed of, but he also gained a piece of beast hide whose purpose remained a mystery.

He glanced at the sky; darkness was falling.

To remain in the wilderness at this hour was an utterly unwise choice.

The thick scent of blood would only attract greater dangers.

With mutated sand rats stuffed into his backpack and dragging the tail of a mutated sand lizard in his hand, he set off toward the capital.

...

Outer city of the Energy Metropolis, tin-roofed low-rent district.

A fierce quarrel echoed through the narrow alleyways, drawing the attention of countless passersby who turned to look.

"I already told you, he went hunting and hasn't come back yet."

At this moment, at the door of Ye Chen's home, a young girl stood, pointing to the open door and the empty house, saying, "It's just the rent, isn't it? We'll pay it tomorrow, I promise."

The man responsible for collecting rent in this area was named Li Hao.

He sneered at Ye Shanshan, who was strikingly beautiful, and said, "Tomorrow? Ye Shanshan, let me tell you, if I don't get the rent today, I'll smash up your food cart too!"

Ye Shanshan, the girl, was Ye Chen's childhood friend. They had grown up together—not related by blood, but closer than family.

Li Hao knew about their relationship. Since he couldn't find Ye Chen, he came to collect from Ye Shanshan instead, knowing she wouldn't refuse.

If Ye Chen made a living by hunting in the wilderness, then Ye Shanshan scraped by running a food stall in the market.

They were both typical members of the working poor.

Thus, the food cart Li Hao threatened was Ye Shanshan's means of survival.

She instinctively shielded her cart and retorted angrily, "I just paid your stall fees yesterday, and you even raised the price! Now you come for the rent today—aren't you pushing us too far?"

Li Hao grinned lecherously at the spirited young woman before him. "Have you looked at the time? Ye Chen still isn't back—probably torn apart by beasts out there in the wild."

"If you really can't pay the rent, there's another way—come spend the night with me, and I'll waive a month's rent."

Ye Shanshan pressed her lips together, her face pale as she glared at him.

It wasn't Li Hao's vulgar words that unsettled her, but his suggestion that Ye Chen might have perished outside the city.

She knew all too well the risks of hunting in the wild; even the most seasoned hunters had adversaries they could not overcome.

What if Ye Chen too...

She dared not let the thought continue.

In this world overrun by mutated beasts, only those living within walled cities felt any sense of safety.

Beyond those walls, the wilderness brimmed with danger.

These threats might come from mutated beasts—or from people.

Perhaps only the regular army, and the strongest among the so-called Awakened, dared to explore the wilds.

But in Ye Shanshan's eyes, Ye Chen was just an ordinary man, or at best a capable hunter.

Suddenly, a broken blade appeared at Li Hao's neck, pressing against his carotid artery.

A deep, bestial voice sounded, "Who did you say you'd like to spend the night with you?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Ye Shanshan, who had been trembling, instantly calmed, as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart. Overjoyed, she exclaimed, "Ye Chen, you're back?!"

Li Hao, on the other hand, stammered, "Ye Chen, I warn you, don't try anything. I'm with the City Lord's office, and... And I'm just here to collect the rent, that's perfectly legitimate!"

Ye Chen withdrew his blade, gave Li Hao a shove, and pointed at the giant sand lizard's corpse lying at the alley's entrance. He said coolly, "Shanshan said we'll pay tomorrow. Do you think that's enough?"

Li Hao's eyes widened to their limits. He swore he'd never seen a sand lizard of such size in his life, and a glimmer of greed flashed in his eyes.

He left, cursing under his breath, but not before staring at the sand lizard's corpse for quite some time, plotting who knows what.

Thanks to Ye Shanshan's help, they finally managed to haul the day's spoils into their cramped little house.

Tomorrow, they'd take them to the task registry to turn in the bounty.

The tiny, less-than-forty-square-meter tin-roofed flat had been partitioned into two rooms.

Miscellaneous items were stacked in the corners, piled almost to the ceiling to save space.

Once Ye Shanshan pushed her cart inside, it was nearly impossible to turn around in the narrow corridor.

After tidying up, she hesitated for a moment, then murmured, "Ye Chen, I really don't want you to go out hunting anymore."

"If nothing else, why not join me in running a stall? It doesn't pay much, but at least it's safe."

Ye Chen smiled gently, saying nothing, quietly listening as she fussed over him.

He could hear the deep concern in her voice.

After lights-out, just as Ye Chen took off his shoes and climbed into bed, Ye Shanshan's nagging voice drifted through the partition again.

"By the way, that sand lizard is huge. It should fetch a good price. When you hand in the bounty tomorrow, ask Old Jin if he has any small business opportunities to recommend."

Ye Chen felt a bit conflicted... A rough hunter like me, what do I know of business?

Isn't that just an excuse to lose money to others?

...

Ye Shanshan soon fell asleep, her delicate brows furrowed even in rest.

In her dreams, she felt as if she were sleeping beside a wild beast, as gusts of breath lifted her hair, leaving it gently floating in the air.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen leaned against the bedhead, eyes closed in contemplation.

Now was the time to investigate the secret behind the door in his mind.

If this was indeed one of his awakening abilities, it was time to master it.

In the realm of consciousness, curiosity led him to push open the half-shut door, only to find himself in a space shrouded with mist.

In the next instant, the fog recoiled. An object both familiar and bizarre appeared before his eyes.

He recognized it at once—it was the task registry's posting board!

But it was strange; the details were shrouded in mystery.

For instance, the board was ringed with carvings of all manner of strange creatures.

Even as an experienced hunter, he had never seen their like.

Yet Ye Chen felt as if he had glimpsed them before, perhaps in some illustrated compendium.

Before he could study any one of the creatures, the beast hide suspended above the board suddenly burst into blue flame, burning to ash in an instant and vanishing into the mist.

A torrent of complex information surged into his mind, as if a jug of wisdom had been poured straight into his skull.

At the center of his chest, a mark resembling a beast's fang appeared.

Ye Chen focused, gradually comprehending the purpose of the "Demonic Beast Breath Technique."

This was a method of cultivation that mimicked the breathing of mighty demonic beasts, designed to strengthen the body and enhance all abilities.

The breathing rhythm felt as though it had been etched into his very bones.

His own breath shifted to match, and a plume of white vapor escaped his lips.

Strange markings spread from his cheeks across his entire face, as though an unknown beast had painted his features.

In... out...

He continued this pattern for a full five minutes.

Meanwhile, Ye Shanshan, asleep next door, frowned even more deeply, dreaming that a beast's breath ruffled her hair again and again.

At that very moment, Ye Chen, eyes closed in cultivation, suddenly snapped his eyes open, astonished.

His fists, resting on his knees, clenched and trembled.

The number representing his inner reserves in his mind had changed.

From "6" to "7/58."

What stunned Ye Chen most was this: he had always heard that for Awakened on this continent, the value of their inner reserves was fixed at the moment of awakening.

There was simply no way to increase it.

Yet he, by means of this mystical breathing technique, was able to raise his own.