Chapter Nineteen: The Original "Source of All Evil"

In the virtual battlefield, ten days could turn an ordinary high school student into a national second-tier athlete, and in the real world, it only took one night.

Zhou Shu felt a little uneasy about this.

“Hunter, is my current progress too fast? Could it be harmful to my body?”

Hunter: “Rest assured, every super soldier makes rapid progress in the early stages. You fall within the normal range. However, since you are the first human of Earth civilization to access the system, whether this rate is truly normal... further observation is needed.”

Zhou Shu fell silent.

“But you don’t need to worry about physical harm. The three source energy points consumed early on have successfully modified your body. You absorb attribute increases and source energy flawlessly.”

That was a relief.

Today, he had done two long sessions of physical training—his strength and endurance improved, but since he hadn’t practiced anything related to agility, that hadn’t increased. It made sense.

His constitution hadn’t risen either. Last time, it had increased after he “logged out,” but he still didn’t understand what exactly would improve this attribute.

Was it just that he hadn’t trained enough, or did it require a special method?

And as for his mental attribute, he couldn’t figure out why that had increased, either.

All of this still needed to be tested.

In any case… it was all quite miraculous.

Zhou Shu realized he knew far too little about his golden finger. In just this short period, he’d already discovered so many new uses.

He needed to learn more, and the anticipation for tomorrow’s hunt of alien monsters only grew stronger.

If such painless training could raise his stats by 0.01, what would happen if he killed a monster? Wouldn’t he skyrocket?

“Excellent, I’m starting to feel that thrill of leveling up and farming monsters in a game!”

Once again, his blood was boiling with excitement.

It’s easy to forget the day’s exhaustion once you lie down, especially when you’re drifting off to sleep. Filled with hope for tomorrow, Zhou Shu soon slipped into his dreams.

The night passed uneventfully, and even Private Kage didn’t stir up any trouble—after all, he’d worn himself out with his antics.

A few hours before dawn, the reveille sounded, and the entire base sprang to life.

Jarred awake by the bugle, Zhou Shu dressed quickly under the urging of the veterans, then went to breakfast.

But he noticed something different. He’d exercised an enormous amount yesterday—even though his school didn’t skimp on physical education, that level of exertion was a lot for a twelfth-grader.

Normally, even if he’d managed to push through on youthful energy, his body would let him know the next morning what “don’t overdo it” really meant.

Yet today, he woke up refreshed, his body free of any discomfort—in fact, he felt even better than before.

Under these circumstances, there were two possibilities: either the virtual battlefield simply ignored negative states—since it was virtual, after all—or the attribute increases had not only enhanced his abilities but also wiped out any negative conditions.

He asked Hunter, and sure enough, it was the latter. The virtual battlefield skipped the process of adding points and just simulated the post-increase state, so negative conditions didn’t exist.

In the real world, the fusion of energy during point allocation would nourish the body, offering some level of recovery, though only for minor issues. Serious injuries required professional equipment.

Hunter assured him that super scientists had invented effective medical equipment…

Oh, right—there were no super scientists in this world. Never mind, then.

Zhou Shu was speechless.

Still, he could try to improve his constitution attribute. That would solve things once and for all.

Increasing constitution not only sped up recovery from injuries but also greatly reduced the chance of getting hurt. For instance, once constitution was high enough, bullets couldn’t pierce your skin, trucks couldn’t break your bones, and infrasound wouldn’t shake your internal organs.

Of course, he still needed to find out how to improve constitution.

Since the world was different and even the virtual battlefield wasn’t using its original data, Hunter’s system began programming new training methods. It wanted Zhou Shu to explore on his own first.

After he discovered a new training path, the system could compare it with the remaining data and optimize it. Plus, Zhou Shu would remember it better since he’d been involved in creating it himself.

While digesting all this new information, Zhou Shu and the veterans quickly finished their breakfast and assembled in the equipment area, where they would suit up in powered exoskeleton armor.

Thanks to his attentiveness yesterday, and his easy rapport with the veterans, Zhou Shu was able to don the exoskeleton by himself, just like the veterans, without any assistance—though not as quickly.

He still had to follow each step, while the veterans could skip around like experienced players who fast-forwarded through game cutscenes.

Not only could the veterans suit up quickly, but they also had their quirks.

For example, the team’s two heavy-armored, heavy-weapons guys: the fierce Skinner, with his cropped hair, had strapped a sign reading “This Side Faces Enemy” to his chest plate, while the tactically-minded, chubby Kimmel wore nothing but his exoskeleton and had lovingly attached a teddy bear to his armor.

Private Kage, nearby, was dumbfounded. He could understand the veterans’ skill, but why did Zhou Shu act like a seasoned soldier too?

They were both new recruits—why was Zhou Shu so proficient?

He hadn’t listened to a word during yesterday’s briefing, too busy planning his escape. Now, with escape impossible and battle looming, he couldn’t even use his life-saving gear.

Fortunately, the squad had orders to keep an eye on him and help him out. So their leader, Graves, personally helped him suit up.

Watching the responsible Graves, Kage felt a surge of confidence—he’d give it another shot.

He swallowed nervously and muttered, “Hey, listen, buddy, I—I’ve never worn one of these before…”

Before he could finish, Graves, still busy helping him, said, “Yeah, and I’ve never had a threesome, but if I ever get the chance, I’m sure I’ll figure it out!”

Graves’ answer left Kage speechless, but he wasn’t ready to give up. Suddenly recalling his bold threat to the general, he blurted out another line.

“Think about it, buddy. I have no idea how to use this thing, so I could hurt someone.”

Hearing this, Graves grinned, patted the machine gun on his exosuit, and said, “Don’t worry, it’s got a safety.”

With that, he walked away.

Seeing Graves leave, Kage panicked and shouted, “Wait, where’s the safety?”

Graves didn’t look back. “Exactly.”

Zhou Shu nearly burst a blood vessel holding in his laughter. This was the root of all evil.

If you can’t find the safety, you can’t fire, and you won’t hurt your teammates.

He remembered that time on the battlefield with Tom—both of them bewildered—because of this exact exchange.

He couldn’t hold it in any longer and called out to the excited Skinner beside him, “Hey, buddy, today’s going to be quite a show!”

“Hahaha, you bet, Zhou! Just wait for the fireworks!” Skinner beat his chest plate with excitement, making it clang.

There would be a good show indeed; Zhou Shu had been waiting all day to slay monsters.

Once they finished suiting up, everyone surged toward the passageway—a dark, flowing river of soldiers, not the sound of water but of metal grinding and clashing.

By now, the sun had risen, spilling light over the helipad, where countless transport helicopters waited. Armored soldiers streamed out from the equipment center, organizing themselves according to the plan, swiftly transforming from a chaotic mass into well-ordered squads.

Not only did the formations go from chaos to order, but so did their footsteps.

What had been a messy “clatter, clatter” gradually became a crisp “clack, clack, clack.”

All the soldiers lined up to board the helicopters, squad leaders calling out commands, and helicopters lifting off now and then—an incredibly lively scene.

While Kage made one last, futile attempt to escape in his exoskeleton, Zhou Shu was in high spirits.

He could almost see the attribute points waving him forward.

P.S. Thanks to Forever Yang, Baibai Zhantang, Nanshan Purple Dream, him1994, 413458, Sacred Sanmao, dsbghost, and Dream Reminiscence for your generous support. Thank you!