In the following days, Chen Shouyi spent most of his time each day in training.

Life was monotonous yet disciplined, but Chen Shouyi found joy in it. The noticeable increase in strength he experienced almost daily fascinated him deeply.

Not only was his physical aptitude improving, but his body's defenses were also becoming exceptionally tough.

In the past few days, his skin gradually became thicker, denser, and smoother, resembling a layer of hard rubber. It appeared delicate, but an ordinary person, using just hand strength, would find it difficult to even deform it, let alone pinch it.

Fortunately, he could feel that his skin's sense of touch hadn't become numb or insensitive; it remained quite sensitive.

…

At noon, the scorching sunlight beat down.

With the arrival of June, Hedong City's temperatures soared, exceeding thirty-five degrees every day.

Behind a small hill, there was an abandoned quarry.

Chen Shouyi's figure flashed like lightning, crossing thirty to forty meters in an instant. In the next moment, his back crashed heavily against a giant rock over four or five meters tall.

"Boom!"

With his weight of one hundred kilograms and speed exceeding a hundred meters per second, such an impact generated energy comparable to a car hitting head-on at a speed of a hundred kilometers per hour, with an even greater impact force on a single surface area.

The massive rock, weighing hundreds of tons, shook violently, moving five or six centimeters sideways. Stone dust filled the air on the impact side, and countless rubble tumbled down.

With a surge of willpower, Chen Shouyi cleared the surrounding dust in an instant, creating a "vacuum" zone!

He coughed a few times, spitting out clotted blood mixed with stone dust, and frowned slightly:

"It seems that the strength of the internal organs is still somewhat lacking!"

"The skin also feels burning hot; obviously, it got scraped during the violent collision with the rock's edges."

He reached behind his back, touched the wound, and found that it was just slightly scratched. After all, it was only rock; its hardness was low, and upon high-speed impact, it turned to powder the moment it contacted the skin.

Since a few days ago, when his sister unleashed her full force under his repeated urging, thrusting an iron rod heavily into his chest, causing him to fracture ribs and vomit blood, she was scared stiff. No matter how he repeatedly explained that such trivial injuries were of no consequence to him or even offered more rewards as temptation, his sister stubbornly refused to lay a hand on him again.

If he hadn't proven he was unharmed afterward, she would've been scared enough to carry him to the hospital.

Left with no choice, Chen Shouyi had been using this rather clumsy method for resistance training. Fortunately, the results were quite decent, improving the strength of his internal organs and skin beyond what simple iron rod strikes could achieve.

Once the dull pain in his chest gradually faded, he slowly backed up thirty or forty meters, took a deep breath, and then forcefully sprang forward, crashing into the giant rock once more.

…

By evening time.

With a resounding "boom," the giant rock, already reduced to less than two meters from repeated impacts, finally shattered into pieces, scattering countless fragments.

Chen Shouyi called out to the Shell Lady, who had been playing by herself on the side, and quickly returned.

Walking along the road, he calmed his mind and sensed his Dantian.

Seeing the small energy vortex still present in his Dantian, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This vortex had just formed today and appeared quite fragile, as if it might dissipate with the slightest disturbance, prompting him to check on it periodically to reassure himself.

Since having this vortex, he noticed that even without training, his body was continuously absorbing the free Original Force from the alternate world.

"Unfortunately, Earth's Original Force is too weak. Even active training yields limited effects, let alone this passive absorption, which achieves less than one-thousandth of the active training effect, rendering it almost useless!" Chen Shouyi mused:

"Perhaps I should really consider going to the alternate world for some serious training time; that would likely greatly accelerate my strength improvement."

Upon reaching the Safe Zone, Chen Shouyi noticed something was amiss.

The streets were filled with soldiers, and passersby were being stopped for checks.

"What's going on?" A hint of doubt flashed across his mind,

"Please show your household registration certificate!" a soldier said sternly.

This document had been implemented last month. Everyone was required to get one from the local neighborhood committee, including Chen Shouyi; however, he had tossed it into a drawer and never carried it since obtaining it.

Chen Shouyi rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a document, asking:

"I didn't bring my household registration certificate; will this do?"

The young soldier instinctively took the red document upon seeing the embossed national emblem on it. The first line on the document read:

"Jiangnan Provincial Government!"

The next line read:

"Master Level Martial Artist Certificate"

The young soldier merely glanced at it, and his whole body shook as he looked up at Chen Shouyi in shock. Not daring to flip through it recklessly, he respectfully handed it back with both hands: "Hello, sir!"

If it were just a Martial Artist Certificate, there would still be a considerable chance of forgery, but a master level martial artist certificate was nearly impossible to fake. Not only would it be easily exposed, but ordinary people probably haven't even heard of it.

"I'm not any sort of 'sir'!" Chen Shouyi remarked, then asked, "What's going on here?"

"Some cultists have escaped, and right now there's a citywide manhunt." The soldier said honestly.

...

The room was filled with smoke; three people sat on the sofa, cigarette after cigarette.

Nearby, a couple lay on the floor, tightly bound, with a dirty rag stuffed in their mouths, their faces full of terror.

"Damn it!" Xu Dahu extinguished his cigarette butt forcefully, then lit another, taking a drag in frustration: "I knew something would go wrong?"

The spies who infiltrated the refugee squads were never believers; they came to Hedong under coercion or voluntarily to spread the cult, thus easily passing anti-cult investigations.

But the original five-person team now has only two left. The other three were ordinary people skilled in rhetoric, responsible for missionary work, while the two martial artists provided the necessary force during the missionary process.

During the hunt, those people couldn't escape at all; they were either killed or captured.

"Stop talking crap after the fact. Who would've thought, people here are so vigilant, as soon as we recruited a few people, the military police came." Deng Shiming said gloomily, holding a cigarette and slightly squinting his eyes.

Since the last Barbarian God's invasion, the Safe Zone has become extremely vigilant against cults. Not only do newspapers cover it extensively, but anti-cult slogans can also be seen all over the alley walls on the streets.

Especially after the God of Courage was killed at the City Hall Square, the citizens' awe of the Barbarian God plummeted, and their immunity and alertness to cults surpassed those in other places.

Xu Dahu suppressed the irritation in his heart, saying hoarsely: "Then what do we do now?"

"Wait!" Deng Shiming replied.

"Not running?" Xu Dahu asked, puzzled.

"Run where? It's full of soldiers outside; walk into a trap?" Deng Shiming sneered.

Just then, he faintly heard voices coming from the corridor outside.

"Quiet!" Deng Shiming's heart tightened. He hushed and got up, walked to the door, pressed his ear against it, and listened carefully for a moment before his face turned grim: "Someone's coming to check the rooms. Let's go!"

"What about these two?" Xu Dahu asked.

"They've already seen our faces, kill them!" Deng Shiming turned back, saying coldly.

The young couple heard this, their faces full of terror as they started to struggle violently, making muffled sounds.

Xu Dahu's face showed struggle, feeling a bit of reluctance.

"Hurry up!" Deng Shiming urged.

Xu Dahu gritted his teeth, a hint of ferocity flashed across his face. He reached out and grabbed the two by the neck, then looked away, applying force with his hands. With a crisp crack, the necks were bent.

Then, the two of them dragged the corpses into the bedroom, covered them with floor-length curtains, and quickly picked up the cigarette butts on the floor, throwing them into the trash can, creating a scene as if no one was home.

After doing all this, the two walked to the balcony, looking at the soldiers all around the complex, their faces darkened.

"Damn it!" Deng Shiming cursed under his breath.

The two didn't hesitate much, knowing that being discovered here was only a matter of time; running away was their only slim chance.

Taking advantage of a moment when the soldiers were unprepared, the two quickly jumped off the third-floor balcony.

"Stop, who goes there!" a soldier shouted.

The two soldiers standing below hadn't reacted yet when Deng Shiming pulled out a short sword from his coat and stabbed one in the chest, while the other soldier's neck was snapped by Xu Dahu with a palm strike, and the two fled swiftly.

Scattered gunfire began to ring out, but the two moved quickly, advancing in a zigzag, making it impossible for bullets to hit. In just a few breaths, they had already escaped the community and reached the streets.

It was rush hour, and the streets were crowded with pedestrians.

Though soldiers still flooded the street, the two of them had smiles on their faces.

Heaven helps those who help themselves.

These pedestrians were their best cover; the soldiers wouldn't dare open fire in the crowd. Perhaps they could really escape here, and as long as they ran all the way to the countryside, they'd be safe!

ps: Sorry, only one update today. I'll see if I can make up for it tomorrow.

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