"Hiss—"
He could clearly feel the walls of his stomach tearing apart and restructuring, each contraction bringing a heart-rending agony.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as Su Chen gritted his teeth, enduring the inhuman tornt.
His stomach alternated between feeling as frigid as an ice cellar and as scorching as roasting charcoal. Amidst this extre pain, he could feel the structure of his stomach reorganizing, becoming tougher and stronger.
[Gourt job initiation successful. Acquired Professional Ability—Gulping: Consu large amounts of food in advance and convert them into stored nutrients, which can be rapidly released in a short ti to replenish the body.]
"It worked..." Su Chen let out a long sigh. A warm current coursed through his body. As he experienced the changes, he could distinctly feel his stomach had beco incredibly powerful, like a pulverizer.
There was also a strange feeling of emptiness, sowhat like hunger.
’I could probably even digest things like rocks now.’
The ability’s description on the panel was just a summary. He would have to experience the specific details for himself.
"Ming Lin said that after taking this job, you can only eat regular food and can’t drink Nutrient Liquid..." Su Chen walked out of the Gravity Chamber and went to the adjacent Potion Storage Chamber, where he picked out a tube of Nutrient Liquid and downed it.
The mont it entered his stomach, he could clearly feel its walls contracting, rapidly storing the highly concentrated nutrients from the compressed liquid.
The hunger-like emptiness diminished significantly.
"Just as I thought. Ming Lin probably only completed about sixty percent of the job requirents. His job completion rate was too low, so the ability was significantly weakened. I can absorb compressed Nutrient Liquid just fine." Su Chen wasn’t surprised, but he was still amazed.
’This is Tier Three Nutrient Liquid. Normally, one tube can sustain for more than half a day of training.’
He downed about four more tubes before the strange emptiness finally disappeared, replaced by a feeling of satisfaction.
"Let test the actual effects..." Su Chen began to work out until he was utterly exhausted and collapsed on the floor.
He tried releasing the "nutrients" stored in his stomach. The effect was quite remarkable. His cells, which had been pushed to their absolute limit, felt as if they were subrged in a hot spring. A warmth spread through his entire body, and he quickly returned to his peak condition.
"It skips the absorption phase. A completely unreasonable recovery." Su Chen got up and clenched his fists, thoroughly amazed.
He then experinted more carefully and found that the stored nutrients could support his recovery a maximum of three tis.
’The loss rate is around 80%. Under normal circumstances, five tubes of Nutrient Liquid could support for at least four days of training.’
"Not bad..." Su Chen was already quite satisfied with this. ’Becoming a Reverser is going to be aweso.’
When Su Chen ca out of the Gravity Chamber, he heard so noise outside. He pushed the door open, and a cold wind rushed to et him.
’The temperature is getting lower and lower. Is this deep winter?’
Su Chen exhaled a puff of warm air and glanced at the artificial sun in the sky, feeling increasingly speechless.
Red banners hung from the streetlights by the door. Even the Judges on the street had a layer of red paint sprayed on the shoulders of their armor.
They also had more smiles on their faces than usual. The gloomy Judicial Court was filled with a rare, lively atmosphere.
"Is this... Origin Day?" Su Chen froze for a mont before it dawned on him.
So it was already that ti of year. This was Ying Feng’s great festival, held to commorate the ti of its founding. Every year, all of Ying Feng and its Subordinate cities would celebrate extravagantly.
At the sa ti, after Origin Day, the calendar would be updated. The thirteenth month would end, and the first month would begin.
"It seems like every place likes to use the color red to celebrate major festivals." Su Chen felt a sense of familiarity. Looking around at the sea of red lining the streets, he couldn’t help but sigh. ’It’s been over half a year since I ca to Ying Feng.’
The scene before him was bustling with excitent, but Su Chen just shook his head and turned back to his residence. The white, cold light in the living room was very bright.
"No. Zero..." he called out, sitting on the sofa.
"Master..." No. Zero loyally walked over.
"It’s nothing," Su Chen said, shaking his head. No. Zero didn’t seem confused, rely waiting faithfully for its master’s command.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
A sudden knock sounded at the door, and No. Zero went to open it.
"Old Bai?" Su Chen looked on in surprise as Bai Fengxi walked in. The howling wind whipped her hair up, and she was carrying two well-sealed, slender bottles of liquor.
"I knew you’d be alone," Bai Fengxi said, deftly kicking the door shut. She walked straight to the dining table. "I’m bored, and it’s too noisy outside, so I figured I’d co find you."
"Want a drink?" she asked.
"Sure." Su Chen sat down at the table. Bai Fengxi said, "I took these from my master’s wine cellar. I saw them tucked away in the very back, so they should be good."
"Are we just going to drink on an empty stomach?" Su Chen had No. Zero contact the cafeteria, only to be stunned to learn they were closed for the holiday.
’They actually get a day off.’ He was speechless.
Just then, another knock ca at the door. This ti, however, the person ca straight in, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Junior Brother, Junior Brother..."
Before he could get a third word out, he saw the two people sitting at the dining table and raised an eyebrow. "Heh, you’ve already got company."
The visitor was none other than Bu Siqi, carrying a large bag in each hand.
"But are you two really just going to drink?" Bu Siqi swung the bags onto the table and took out several packed al boxes, still steaming hot.
"Senior Brother, you have great foresight," Su Chen said with a thumbs-up. Bu Siqi raised his eyebrows smugly and plopped down into a seat. When he saw the two bottles on the table, he was taken aback. "Holy shit, is this ’Golden Flowing Sand’?"
"Junior Brother, you’re that impressive already? Soone’s actually giving you this stuff?"
"Old Bai brought it," Su Chen said. The liquor seed very precious.
"The other senior brothers each took one bottle, so I took two," Bai Fengxi said casually.
"Ah, Yuan Poshan’s private stash. That makes sense. He’s the only one who can get his hands on this stuff." Bu Siqi’s expression beca unreadable as realization dawned. He rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Looks like I’m basking in your glory today, Junior Brother."
The food was simple, but none of them cared. When the Golden Flowing Sand was poured into the glasses, it truly looked like flowing gold, emitting a rich and unusual aroma.
The three of them drank a glass together. Su Chen felt a wave of heat rise from his stomach, accompanied by a burning sensation. And this was despite his stomach having beco the Gulping Stomach.
’This liquor is potent.’
"I wonder how Xiao Gezi is doing," Bai Fengxi said, suddenly a little lancholic.
"Master Yuan is watching over..." Su Chen began, exhaling a warm breath. Before he could finish, there was a loud CLATTER, and Bai Fengxi face-planted onto the dining table.
Su Chen was dumbfounded.
"Ha..." Bu Siqi grinned. "This girl is interesting. I thought she ca here aiming to get you drunk, but she ended up passing out after one sip."
"This Golden Flowing Sand can knock out a Tier Three with a single drink. You’re the impressive one, Junior Brother, for actually holding out."
Su Chen was speechless. He looked at Old Bai, who was out before the party had even started, then turned to Bu Siqi. "Let’s go see Senior Brother Teng."
Bu Siqi paused. "In previous years on Origin Day, I’d always drink with that dullard Old Teng. I was planning to go see him after drinking with you guys. Well, this works out. Just let the little lady sleep."
"Let’s go, let’s go. We’ve barely touched the food. Let’s take it with us."
Su Chen pondered for a mont, then picked up the opened but unfinished bottle of Golden Flowing Sand, leaving the unopened one behind. He told No. Zero to take care of Bai Fengxi, and the two of them headed out.
There were people on duty at the Judgnt Departnt, but they didn’t stop them from visiting Teng Liang.
"This place is pretty gloomy..."
Walking into the prison block, the cells on both sides were empty. The tal bars were engraved with so kind of symbols. This place was only for temporary confinent. If you were truly caught by the Judgnt Departnt, you’d either end up dead or crippled; actual long-term imprisonnt was rare.
"Of course it is. See those caras?" Bu Siqi pointed to the surveillance equipnt overhead. "They’re custom-made. They can even capture the movents of a Tier Four Professional." The caras were unusually large, about the size of a washbasin.
Teng Liang’s cell was in the deepest part of the prison. His emaciated body lay on an iron bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Senior Brother," Bu Siqi called out.
Hearing the call, Teng Liang turned his head. His stiff cheeks twitched. "Oh, it’s you two."
"Co on, co on..." Bu Siqi beckoned, taking out the food and the Golden Flowing Sand. "Co try this. It’s the good stuff."
Teng Liang ca closer, glanced down, and said with surprise, "Golden Flowing Sand. Where did you get this stuff?"
Xia Hanshi didn’t like to drink, so Bu Siqi couldn’t possibly have access to such a resource.
"It’s from Yuan Poshan’s private stash..." Bu Siqi said. "The young lady who’s on good terms with Junior Brother brought it."
Teng Liang’s eyes flickered, and he sighed. "Ah, Junior Brother, you’ve been tricked by little Bu."
Su Chen was stunned. Teng Liang explained, "He just couldn’t stand seeing you with a girl, so he deliberately called you over here."
Bu Siqi retorted angrily, "Old Teng, don’t talk nonsense! Am I the kind of person who can’t stand seeing others happy? Junior Brother was the one who suggested it. I was originally planning to co by myself after they’d gone to sleep."
"Had a change of heart?" Teng Liang asked, surprised.
Bu Siqi imdiately beca flustered and exasperated. "You dullard! Usually, you couldn’t squeeze a fart out if your life depended on it. Why are you suddenly so talkative today?"
Teng Liang’s eyes twitched. Bu Siqi jumped back in fright, but then sneered, "Don’t try to scare . You’re sealed by the Profession-Locking Chains. You don’t even have a tenth of your strength left."
He poured three glasses of liquor, and the three of them clinked their glasses.
"Tsk tsk, impressive," Bu Siqi said, staring at Su Chen in amazent. "Two drinks, and you’re still holding up."
After a few rounds, Su Chen’s head was spinning. This stuff was truly sothing else. If it were his old self, he would have been out cold long ago.
"...I wonder how Yu Hao, Zhipei, and Ling Yue are doing." Bu Siqi, his cheeks flushed, suddenly ntioned three nas. The silent Teng Liang frowned slightly and glanced at Su Chen.
Su Chen knew those three nas. They were the three guys Old Xia had taken in as students before him.
Su Chen already knew the whole story, so he wasn’t fazed and his expression remained normal.
Teng Liang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Junior Brother, you should go back and check on that young lady."
"No way, no way!" Bu Siqi suddenly had a strong reaction, his true nature revealed. He grabbed for Su Chen. "If Junior Brother goes back, he’ll be walking into the lion’s den..."
Su Chen’s eyelid twitched. He saw Teng Liang reach out a thin, gaunt arm, grab Bu Siqi’s head, and forcefully slam it against the bars.
BANG!
The dull thud made Su Chen’s own scalp tingle.
Bu Siqi’s face was filled with terror, his cheek squashed against the bars. "You’re not fucking sealed! You still have your strength! The Judgnt Departnt are all bastards! Fuck ..."
"Go on back," Teng Liang said to Su Chen, forcing a smile.
"Okay." Su Chen swallowed hard and took his leave.
Outside the prison, the cold wind hit his face, sobering him up quite a bit. Thinking about what just happened, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
He rubbed his face, returned to his residence, dumped Old Bai on the sofa, rubbed his own head, and went upstairs to sleep.
The next day, he didn’t know who woke up first. By the ti Su Chen ca downstairs, Old Bai was already gone. She was probably embarrassed, as she hadn’t even left a note.
The Golden Flowing Sand was still on the table.
"Master, I have recorded the scene of Ms. Bai Fengxi waking up. Would you like to view it?" No. Zero, who was standing in the corner, suddenly spoke.
"What the hell?" Su Chen’s composure broke. "How could you possibly analyze my daily behavior and conclude that I would want to see sothing like that?"
"I simply thought you might be curious," No. Zero explained.
Su Chen couldn’t be bothered with it and prepared to head to the Gravity Chamber to continue fulfilling the requirents for becoming a [Reverser].
After becoming a Gourt, he could train continuously for short periods, saving a lot of recovery ti.
But just as the new year was beginning, after a few more days had passed, a sudden piece of news shattered the festive atmosphere in the Judicial Court.
Bu Siqi rushed over to find him, his expression grim. After closing the door, he said, "Wei Yinsuo is back."
"He’s back?" Su Chen was astonished. Three months had passed since they had lost contact with the Chief Judge. Many people assud he was already dead.
Su Chen had thought so too.
Bu Siqi nodded. "Yeah. He was discovered three hundred kiloters outside Yingfeng City earlier today. He was covered in wounds and showed almost no signs of life. He’s been sent to the dical departnt."
He looked quite displeased. "That old bastard. He actually didn’t die. He didn’t listen to our master’s advice, got two cities destroyed, and still has the nerve to be alive."
Su Chen was also a little disappointed. He didn’t have a good impression of Wei Yinsuo either.
As he spoke, a hint of schadenfreude crept into Bu Siqi’s voice. "But he doesn’t know that Zhu Xuan is dead yet. Hopefully, the news will be enough to finish him off."
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