Start with push-ups to gain experience

Fang Cheng slowly withdrew his right fist.

Golden flames danced on his knuckles, instantly evaporating the few drops of tainted blood.

Then, he looked down at his feet.

Because of the excessive force exerted earlier, a shallow pit less than half a meter in diameter was trampled into the scorched ground.

"The power is still too small."

Fang Cheng flicked his wrist, feeling the binding force of this world on his physical strength, and muttered to himself:
"If this were in the original world... the shockwave from this punch would at least flatten half a street."

I played a joke on myself.

He looked up at the hole in the wall that had been smashed by the giant beast's corpse in the distance, and strode over to it.

Passing through the hole in the wall, the remains of the mutated monster lay limp and lifeless in a pile of rubble.

Fang Cheng crouched down, his gaze sweeping over the corpse that resembled a skinned hound and was covered by an exoskeleton.

The genes of the creatures in this world have been rewritten beyond recognition under extreme radiation, making it impossible to distinguish what species these beasts actually belong to.

Let's call it the "Hound Monster" for now.

Fang Cheng observed carefully and suddenly remembered what the professor had said during the team building activity of the Illuminati.

When the professor was young, he joined a mercenary group in Southeast Asia and also entered a certain otherworld.

In that world, after killing monsters, you can obtain a certain red crystal.

That thing seemed to be a priceless treasure that everyone was vying for.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng did not hesitate. He put his five fingers together and turned them into a palm strike, directly splitting open the giant beast's shattered chest cavity.

He searched through the viscous organs and bone fragments with his bare hands for a while, but found nothing unusual except for his hands covered in foul-smelling blood.

"Looks like I was overthinking it. There's no such thing as getting loot from monsters all the time..."

Fang Cheng shook his head self-deprecatingly, and was about to withdraw his hand and get up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint glow deep within the giant beast's skull, which had been smashed in half.

Fang Cheng paused.

He then extended his index and middle fingers and inserted them into the cracks in the skull, clearing away the grayish-white brain matter.

At the location of the pineal gland in the giant beast's brain, two fingers pinched a hard, foreign object and pulled it out forcefully.

It was a perfectly round pearl stained with blood.

It is so small that it is only slightly larger than a grain of rice.

If Fang Cheng hadn't been so observant, he would have easily been overlooked among this pile of rotten flesh.

Even though its surface was covered in filth and blood, the tiny pearl still emitted a faint red glow from within.

Fang Cheng held it between his fingertips and brought it closer to examine it.

Even through his skin, he could clearly sense that an exceptionally pure life energy was radiating outward from the inside of the bead.

It felt like a tiny, extremely compressed heart was beating warmly and frequently between my fingertips.

This familiar energy fluctuation instantly reminded him of the ancient remains he had obtained on Yong'an Island.

The two exude very similar scents.

In other words, it should also have a great nourishing effect on a martial artist's physical training, and can be used to replenish the consumption of true energy.

"They actually have it!"

Fang Cheng's lips curled into a satisfied smile as he muttered to himself.

He rubbed it lightly with his thumb, wiping away the bits of flesh and debris from the surface of the pearl.

He then unzipped the side pocket of his pack, tossed the trophy inside, and carefully tucked it away.

The strong smell of blood spread rapidly through the ruins with the strong wind.

Fang Cheng pulled out a tissue to wipe his fingers, his ears twitching slightly.

Crunch, crunch.

That was the sound of claws scraping against pieces of concrete.

He looked up and glanced around.

In the shadows of the collapsed buildings around them, pairs of eyes, some eerie green and some scarlet, suddenly appeared.

A dozen or so mutated monsters of various shapes were using the ruins as cover to surround him.

Some of them have multiple segmented limbs, some resemble enlarged versions of hairless reptiles, and others are hound monsters that are completely different from their predecessors.

These monsters were originally attracted by the smell of flesh and blood, and they were all eager and drooling.

But the brutal scene of Fang Cheng smashing the hound monster with a single punch had clearly intimidated them.

At this moment, they are hovering at a safe distance of more than ten meters.

It seemed to both fear the fierce, inhuman aura and be reluctant to give up a prey that looked "delicate and tender".

Fang Cheng looked at these eyes hiding in the shadows, but instead of being afraid, his eyes lit up with excitement.

In his eyes, these were not predatory monsters at all, but rather moving ATMs filled with precious orbs.

Swish!
Fang Cheng didn't give these monsters a chance to test him at all.

He slammed his legs off the ground, bracing against twice the force of gravity, and like a heavy tank charging at full speed, he crashed into the shadowy ruins on his left.

Before the nearest multi-legged monster could even utter a roar, Fang Cheng's heavy punch tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom, smashing its carapace-covered head to pieces.

Immediately afterwards, he twisted his waist, his thigh muscles bulged, and he swept out like a battle axe.

boom!
The other reptilian monster, unable to resist lunging forward, was swept in half by this whirlwind kick, forming a folded "V" shape.

His spine shattered inch by inch, and he couldn't even scream in his throat before flying out and crashing into a concrete pillar.

Seeing the situation was dire, the third mutated beast, resembling a hyena, opened its foul-smelling mouth full of fangs and attempted to bite Fang Cheng's neck.

Fang Cheng didn't even turn his head, but instead delivered a backhand elbow strike that landed precisely on its jaw.

The enormous impact shattered its jawbone and half of its head.

The monster's heavy body crashed to the ground, its limbs twitching wildly and nervously.

In less than ten seconds.

Two dead and one seriously injured.

Such pure, brutal crushing power instantly shattered the greed of the remaining monsters.

They finally realized that this seemingly delicate human was actually the apex predator in these ruins.

With a few terrified growls, the remaining monsters scattered like birds, tucked their tails between their legs, and disappeared into the darkness.

The decisiveness with which they fled demonstrates that they not only possess intelligence but also a considerable degree of rationality.

Fang Cheng didn't waste his energy chasing after him.

He strode up to the still convulsing hound monster, raised his military boot, and stomped down hard, ending its suffering instantly.

Next, Fang Cheng skillfully crushed the skulls of the three corpses and searched for their brains.

The result left him somewhat disappointed.

Of the three-headed monster, only one had a precious pearl condensed inside its body.

Moreover, it was smaller than the previous grain of rice, and its fluorescence was much dimmer.

"It seems that the formation of this thing is either related to strength, or the longer one lives, the more energy one accumulates, and the larger the bead becomes."

Fang Cheng secretly guessed, shook off the bloodstains on his hands, and put away the tiny pearl as well.

Just as he was preparing to change direction and continue his "treasure hunt" in the ruins of the city.

The already oppressive dark red sky above suddenly turned black without warning.

It's as if day has vanished and night has fallen.

Thick clouds of volcanic ash completely obscured the sky, and the wind suddenly intensified. The surrounding air temperature plummeted at an alarming rate.

In just a few minutes, the air that was originally hot enough to cook an egg dropped to near zero degrees Celsius.

However, for Fang Cheng, whose blood and qi were still surging even under twice the gravity, this was not the case.

The sudden drop in temperature didn't feel cold at all; instead, it felt like having air conditioning on a hot summer day, making it exceptionally pleasant and cool.

Fang Cheng stopped and gazed into the depths of the ruins.

Visibility was extremely low in the darkness, and apart from ruins, there were no landmarks worth exploring immediately.

He thought for a moment; the physical fitness tests were underway.

Although it's still early and there's plenty of time, there's no need for me to venture deep into the unknown under the cover of darkness.

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze, which naturally fell on the several fresh monster corpses on the ground.

A bold idea popped into my head.

"What does the meat of these things taste like...? Is it edible?"

As if in response to this idea, a muffled gurgling sound came from his abdomen.

From the time he arrived at the Xishan examination site this afternoon to wait until the physical fitness test officially began at night, he hadn't even had a sip of water.

Not to mention enjoying a hot and hearty dinner.

The so-called physical fitness test was no challenge for him, but his stomach was already protesting violently.

Fang Cheng licked his lips, his appetite gradually overriding his reason.

To the average person, these bizarre and mutated creatures are believed to carry many unknown viruses, and eating one would surely result in intestinal perforation and instant death.

However, Fang Cheng had absolute confidence in his physical condition.

He could devour even something as filthy as the "Crimson Eye," which was enough to corrupt the mind, let alone a few mutated monsters.

"Give it a try, consider it as researching a new recipe."

Fang Cheng looked around and chose the hound monster that had the most developed muscles and looked the most chewy.

They then dragged its body into a relatively intact, semi-enclosed building.

He kicked away the rubble on the ground, clearing a small open space.

Next, they found a few dry, weathered wooden furniture fragments in the ruins, piled them together, and built a campfire.

Fang Cheng extended his right hand and gently rubbed his thumb and middle finger together.

Snapped.

A cluster of golden flames danced at his fingertips, like the flame of a windproof lighter.

He brought the flame close to the rotten wood, and the extreme heat instantly ignited it.

A bright yellow campfire rose up, faintly illuminating the surrounding dark area.

After the fire was lit, Fang Cheng walked to the giant beast's corpse.

He gripped the beast's thick hind leg joints with both hands and applied slight pressure.
With a tearing sound, a thigh weighing tens of kilograms was ripped off.

Next, Fang Cheng found a sturdy enough rusty steel bar, skewered the meat on it, and grilled it directly over the campfire.

Before long, the high temperature forced out the oil from the mutated beast meat.

The pale yellow fat dripped into the fire, creating a series of sizzling sounds, and the flames suddenly shot up.

An extremely rich aroma of meat quickly overpowered the smell of sulfur in the air and spread throughout the ruins.

This fragrance, in this barren land, is undoubtedly equivalent to a deadly poison.

In the darkness outside the wall, pairs of greedy eyes, gleaming with an eerie light, soon lit up again.

Those strangely shaped mutated creatures resembled demons and monsters.

Under the cover of night, they gathered in greater numbers, emitting eerie swallowing sounds and low growls from their throats.

Fang Cheng sat by the fire, turning the roasted meat in his hands, without even lifting his eyelids.

If you want to watch, then watch.

If these beasts dare to cross even half a step beyond the fire-lit boundary, he would absolutely not hesitate to prepare a few more midnight snacks with his fists.

After about ten minutes, the outer layer of roasted meat had turned golden brown and crispy.

Fang Cheng couldn't wait to retract the steel bar, opened his mouth, aimed at the fattest piece of thigh meat, and bit down hard.

hiss--

The rich aroma, accompanied by the piping hot meat juices, explodes in your mouth instantly.

This meat is much firmer and tougher than beef on Earth; each bite requires tremendous chewing force to tear it apart.

Fang Cheng chewed heartily.

There was no poisoning reaction the moment the piece of meat was swallowed down the esophagus and into the stomach.

Instead, it transformed into a scorching stream of air, spreading out like strong liquor within the abdominal cavity.

Then, it is quickly broken down by the powerful digestive system and transformed into nutrients to nourish the body.

"nice one!"

Fang Cheng's eyes lit up.

This meat clearly contains pure life energy, which can be completely absorbed by oneself.

After confirming that it was harmless, Fang Cheng completely let go of his inhibitions.

Like a beast that hadn't eaten for three months, he grabbed the several-dozen-kilogram animal leg with both hands and tore at it frantically like a whirlwind.

Even the fascia between the bones was completely removed, leaving only the sounds of swallowing and chewing.

Just a few minutes later, only a bare bone remained of the thigh, which was thrown to the ground.

Fang Cheng let out a burp, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, and felt that he still wanted more.

But he did not continue eating. Instead, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

In this harsh environment filled with radiation, the energy from the flesh and blood that my body had just ingested was somewhat excessive, and it must be completely refined as soon as possible.

The scalding blood and qi within the body made a sound like the surging of the Yangtze River.

With each breath, you can draw in the subtle energy in the air into your lungs.

At the same time, several lines of light blue notification messages kept appearing in front of me.

[You consumed the flesh and blood of some unknown mutated creature, increasing your constitution by 0.001]

[You consumed the flesh and blood of some unknown mutated creature, increasing your constitution by 0.001]

………………

After an unknown amount of time, the energy from the flesh and blood was finally completely absorbed.

Just as Fang Cheng was about to finish his practice...

His extremely keen hearing suddenly picked up a very faint, unusual sound from the howling wind outside the wall.

That wasn't the heavy panting of a wild beast, but a deliberately suppressed breath filled with extreme fear.

Fang Cheng suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife as he looked at the shadows at the edge of the firelight at the cave entrance.

A thin, hunched figure was seen sneaking along the wall, his eyes fixed on a beast leg bone that had been gnawed clean on the ground.

That silhouette, that posture, it's clearly a human figure!
"Humans?"

A hint of surprise flashed through Fang Cheng's mind, and he subconsciously spoke up.

The sudden sound was like a needle pricking a taut balloon.

The small, thin figure shuddered violently and let out a terrified scream.

Then, as if encountering some utterly terrifying demon, they darted like rabbits into the endless dark ruins. (End of Chapter)