Gurgle, gurgle...

The familiar sensation of hunger struck him, and within an instant, he felt somewhat dizzy and lightheaded.

This feeling was ten times stronger than the last time he activated Iron Body!

After a brief hesitation of one or two seconds, Cheng Ye felt his legs go weak, uncontrollably collapsing to the ground.

Yet he panted heavily and smiled.

"That's right, if every time a skill is activated, it's this intense, it's got the right flavor!"

At the same time, he tore open five packs of Nutrient Paste, opened his mouth wide, and stuffed all the bags in.

He squeezed aggressively with his fingers, and the milky liquid burst fully in his mouth.

There was no need to swallow actively. As soon as the liquid hit his throat, an inexplicable force surged it downwards.

Meanwhile, the wild grass pattern on his heart lit up again, flickering continuously with each swallow.

Thud.

Five packs.

Thud.

Another five packs drained!

The greedy wild grass seemed to have been given fertilizer, quickly completing the missing foundation.

It was as if countless roots were plunging into deeper "soil," madly extracting nutrients.

In less than half a minute, the first box of 40 packs of Nutrient Paste was swallowed brutally by Cheng Ye.

But the hunger didn't lessen; it became even more apparent.

Fortunately, he was well-prepared this time, with the second box, third box...

As many as 120 packs of Nutrient Paste went down, with no sense of fullness at all.

It wasn't until the fifth box was nearly empty that Cheng Ye's swallowing finally slowed down a bit.

By the time only a few packs were left in the box, that indescribable hunger only then retreated, but based on previous experience, there was still a gap of thirty to fifty packs from feeling full.

"Level 3 talent skill, and 200 packs weren't enough?"

Cheng Ye stood up in astonishment, but inside, he was filled with uncontrollable delight.

Quantifying the talent effect by the number of Nutrient Paste packs, though simple and crude, was the most straightforward.

The more he ate, the greater the potential of this talent.

Once the energy was replenished, a fine itching sensation spread from the pain points all over his body, clearly indicating that the damaged areas were healing rapidly.

He went to the nearby washroom, getting some water to rinse off the grimy blood on his body.

Luckily, this time, the underlying changes in his body didn't instantly restore him to full health; surface bruises only faded slightly rather than disappearing completely, saving a lot of explanation trouble.

After fetching another bucket of water and using a mop to clean the layer of greasy blood on the floor, Cheng Ye closed the door.

Instead of contacting Long, he directly headed to a supply distribution point not far from the community, picked up thirty packs of Nutrient Paste, and consumed them as he walked.

By the time he reached the bus station, he finally felt a slight sense of fullness.

"Ah, comfortable!"

Cheng Ye exhaled a long breath, originally thinking the Wild Grass Physique merely transformed his body's recovery ability, never expecting it to enhance all attributes comprehensively.

This massive leap in fundamentals had entirely overshadowed the skill's augmentive effects.

He vaguely sensed that even if he faced an opponent trained in the Four Forces now, he'd easily prevail.

Why?

We're just such stat monsters.

After a struggle to get on the bus and getting off two and a half hours later, he just entered the medical office's gate when a friendly smile greeted him from the gate-guard, who stepped forward to remind, "Inspector Cheng, friends have been visiting since you left; we have directed them to wait in your room."

"Friends?"

"Yes." The guard briefly described the visitors' appearances.

A woman with a little girl, accompanied by a middle-aged man with a young person.

"Sister Luo? Yiyi?"

A smile spread uncontrollably across Cheng Ye's face; he patted the guard on the shoulder and walked briskly inside under the respectful gaze.

As the elevator reached the fifth floor, Yiyi's excited shouts echoed from the hallway even before the doors fully opened.

"Come chase me, hahaha!"

"About to catch you soon!"

Hmm?

Kang?

Matching the familiar voice to a memory, Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and stepped out of the elevator.

Sure enough, down the hallway, a handsome young man was chasing Yiyi, the two laughing and playing as they dashed through the corridors.

At the corridor's end, Luo Xiaoxue and Jiang Chuan stood side by side, quietly chatting with relaxed smiles on their faces.

"Oh, Brother Cheng Ye's back!"

Still running, Yiyi suddenly halted, then accelerated like a small cannonball toward him.

Cheng Ye bent down effortlessly, scooped her up, and raised her cheerfully into the air, spinning her around.

Liu Yi giggled non-stop; for her, just leaving the chemical plant community was astonishing enough.

Riding the bus all the way to the medical office felt like entering a brand-new world, everything was full of wonder.

"Brother Cheng." Wang Kang came over, scratching his head, eyes filled with evident surprise, "You...how did you become so strong?"

"Oh? Am I?"

Cheng Ye chuckled, placing Yiyi securely on his shoulder.

Without comparison, there is no harm.

He glanced at Wang Kang's slender figure and then looked down at his own bulging pectoral muscles and increasingly defined muscle lines on his arms, feeling slightly dazed.

When he had just crossed over to this world, he was even more frail than Wang Kang is now.

But today, standing side by side, the changes in himself over these days were stark.

"Once outside the Inner City, we have to rely on ourselves to survive; exercising more isn't a bad thing."

"Brother Cheng is right; I'm trying to exercise as well, but..."

Wang Kang sighed with envy, "The effect is too poor; no matter how much I eat, I don't gain weight."

"No worries, in a couple of days, I'll take you to the entrance of my community to eat some big meat, I'm well-acquainted with the boss, I'll ask him to pick some big, fatty ones for you, add some nutrition."

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