28: Chapter 28: He spat out a mouthful of blood—are you scared yet?

The weekend.

Wang Pingan once again set foot on his familiar path of "restocking."

West City Scrap Yard.

That familiar scent, a mixture of machine oil and rust, made him feel full of energy.

By now, he was a legendary existence within this junkyard.

Although no one had ever seen his true face.

However, the foreman, Zhao Dahai, had been complaining to people recently, saying that his workers had been getting increasingly careless with their work.

Many energy core fragments that were clearly marked as having recycling value would disappear in the blink of an eye.

It was as if a ghost had been at work.

Wearing a baseball cap, Wang Pingan wove through the steel jungle as skillfully as if he had returned to his own backyard.

He systematically collected the several high-value targets marked on his treasure map, one by one.

His backpack soon became heavy.

Just as he was preparing to finish up.

He was inexplicably drawn once again to the edge of the forbidden zone shrouded in blood-colored mist.

He activated 【Energy Scan】.

The map in his mind remained a blur of severely interfered blood-red.

But today, something was different.

In that churning blood-colored mist, he keenly captured an extremely faint, yet unusually active energy fluctuation.

That feeling was no longer the dead, cold energy that carried the scent of decay from before.

Instead, it was like an ancient existence that had been sleeping for billions of years, unconsciously letting out a murmur in its sleep.

Or like a prisoner trapped in the deep sea, using its last ounce of strength to send a distress signal to the outside world.

Although it was only a fleeting moment.

Wang Pingan's heart, however, uncontrollably skipped a beat.

There was a change!

Something unknown must have happened inside the forbidden zone!

He forcibly suppressed his desire to investigate and did not rush in blindly.

He knew that with his current strength, exploring a place that even the system could not analyze would be akin to throwing an egg against a rock.

He needed greater strength and more preparation.

He turned and left, his pace more determined than ever before.

Back at the apartment.

Inventory, absorption, conversion.

It was done in one go.

Looking at the number that had surged again on the system panel, his heart was filled with a sense of security.

【pay-to-win points: 1955】

A reserve of nearly two thousand points was enough for him to raise his strength by a significant margin.

It was also enough for him to accumulate the first "startup capital" for his next exploration of the forbidden zone.

...

Monday.

The atmosphere at the Elite Base was unusually heavy.

Instructor Chen Feng gathered everyone at the central training ground.

He crossed his arms, and his eternally poker-faced expression bore a rare hint of seriousness.

"A temporary notice."

"This afternoon, we will conduct an all-member combat strength test."

"Everyone must give it their all."

"For this test, we will use the military's latest high-precision detector to comprehensively evaluate your blood qi value, peak power, and instantaneous explosive force."

His gaze swept over everyone's face one by one, and finally, it lingered on Wang Pingan for two extra seconds.

"The results of this test will directly affect your resource allocation for next month, as well as... whether you are qualified to continue staying here."

As his voice fell, the whole crowd was in an uproar.

Everyone felt that sense of impending pressure.

Especially Wang Pingan.

His heart skipped a beat.

This test had come too suddenly.

Moreover, it specifically named "instantaneous explosive force" as a test item.

Linking this to the look Instructor had just given him.

Wang Pingan had reason to suspect that this test was aimed at him.

Instructor still didn't trust him.

He wanted to use this test to thoroughly figure out the bottom line of this "Fist Technique prodigy."

To see what kind of physical cost his astonishing explosive force was exchanged for.

"Damn it, what a troublesome life."

Wang Pingan couldn't help but complain to himself.

It seemed that he would have to put on a good performance for the afternoon test.

He needed to show enough strength to maintain his position and resources.

And he had to act realistically so that the old fox, Instructor, wouldn't see any flaws.

Getting the balance right was much harder than getting into a fight.

He looked up at Lin Zhan not far away.

That silent, mountain-like youth was still silently warming up, his expression unchanged.

As if any test was just a daily routine for him.

But Wang Pingan felt an aura from him that was more solid and dangerous than ever before.

That aura was restrained and deep.

Like a volcano about to erupt.

This guy...

Wang Pingan's eyelid twitched.

He had a premonition.

Lin Zhan was probably about to break through, too.

In the afternoon.

The test officially began.

The so-called "military's latest high-precision detector" was carefully pushed out by two staff members in white research uniforms.

That thing was less of a detector and more of a small war machine.

It was made entirely of pitch-black alloy, covered in various complex circuits and crystals emitting a dim glow, full of a cold, violent aesthetic.

"First, Su Yue."

Su Yue took a deep breath and stepped forward.

She placed her palm into a groove on the instrument.

Hum.

The instrument emitted a faint hum, and a blue light screen unfolded in front of her.

【blood qi value: 335 units】

【peak power: 450 kg】

【instantaneous explosive coefficient: 1.8】

A series of data clearly displayed on the screen.

This result was quite good.

Su Yue herself breathed a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

Next, the others took their turns one after another.

Qin Shan, Qin Hai, Zhao Hao...

Everyone's results had improved significantly compared to the last assessment.

The resources of the Elite Base, combined with their own efforts, had yielded obvious results.

Soon, it was Wang Pingan's turn.

He stepped forward, and everyone's gaze focused on him.

Especially Instructor.

Those sharp eyes stared at him without blinking, as if trying to see right through him, inside and out.

Wang Pingan took a deep breath and placed his palm on it.

Hum.

The light screen unfolded.

【blood qi value: 360 units】

As soon as this number appeared, a chorus of suppressed gasps sounded around him.

Three hundred and sixty units!

How long had it been?

This guy's blood qi had increased again!

Although it was still in the early stages of the second rank, this growth rate was too terrifying!

Instructor's brow furrowed even tighter.

He stared fixedly at the screen, as if trying to decipher some hidden meaning from that number.

"Begin, power test."

Wang Pingan walked to the power target in front of the instrument.

He did not strike immediately.

Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The blood qi in his body began to circulate wildly in a profound and domineering way.

Meteor Fist Technique!

"Hah!"

He opened his eyes suddenly and let out a roar!

His whole body was like a fully drawn bow as he struck out!

He didn't hold back at all with this punch!

Meteor!

Falling!

Boom!

A loud noise shook the entire training ground, making it hum!

The numbers on the instrument's screen soared wildly!

【peak power: 780 kg!】

【instantaneous explosive coefficient: 3.5!】

When these two numbers finally settled on the screen.

The entire training ground went completely silent.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone seemed to be frozen in place, staring blankly at the light screen, their minds blank.

And Wang Pingan.

After throwing this earth-shattering punch.

He felt as if all his strength had been drained from him.

His body swayed, and his face turned as pale as paper in an instant, without a trace of blood.

He clutched his chest, bent over abruptly, and began to cough violently.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering onto the cold alloy floor.

It was a shocking sight.