Epoch of Twilight

The attributes points were clearly valuable.

As soon as Luo Yuan was notified, he was absolutely delighted. He brandished his sword and tried again, only to discover that in addition to his physique, his strength had also inflated. Compared to his initial condition, it achieved an almost sixfold increase.

Seeing this, he did not hesitate but to put the remaining two into his mouth.

Initially, Luo Yuan had thought that this time round, the sensory stimulation would be stronger. But apart from a slight reaction in the beginning, everything was calm the very next moment, with not a hint of change, as if what he just consumed was distinctively different than the one he had earlier.

He had an inkling that his body could possibly been repleted with energy.

It could even last him ten days or even half a month, without food. His whole body was brimming with energy, as though with immeasurable power.

His assumption was as good as gold, upon discovering a yellow-red spot the size of a needle in the left atrium of his heart.

It was constantly changing, persistently growing.

It never bothered him in the beginning. If it was not for his Will that magnified his inner vision, he would not have even noticed it in the first place. But with the constant blood flow gushing about, the continuous growth of the small spot in question could now be detected by the naked eye. Within just a few minutes, it had now grown to the size of a soybean. No further development was observed since then.

This particulate bioactive-laden enrichment was almost an exact replica of the original, but only a size smaller. With its development, the palpitation of his heart had become stronger, the blood flow seemed more intense, and his whole body was bursting with energy.

This was it.

In the beginning, Luo Yuan was fascinated by the mystery of particulate energy enrichment; even feeling awestruck by it. After all, it bore some similarities to a few incidents that had appeared in China’s myths and legends – intriguing him even more. But alas, after experiencing its formation within his own body, the once-mysterious occurrence passed into oblivion.

Similar to one who had consumed too much fat, the surplus of nutrients naturally forms a layer in one’s body. This works the same way, only in a more efficient and orderly manner.

Luo Yuan felt slightly disappointed. He had initially been looking forward to it, especially when his other attributes, such as Strength, would be experiencing a slight increase. Unfortunately, the final outcome did not live up to his expectations.

He looked at his sticky limbs and torso, and adjourned towards the bathroom, with two washbowls and towels in tow.

The water supply from Hucheng City had long been disconnected, but fortunately, there was no water shortage, as the boilers provided hot water daily. Water that had not been purified by means of heating was deemed unsafe, which was the sole reason why cold water was not found in the region.

Luo Yuan filled up two of his washbowls to the brim, before letting it cool down slightly. He then undid his bulletproof vest and clothes, and began to take a bath.

At 78 degrees Celsius, the heat of the water did not adversely affect his body at all. The stains and blood were washed away; revealing his smooth alabaster skin. Luo Yuan reached for the towel to dry himself, but as he was drying himself, he paused to look at his body briefly.

His skin had been always fair, but after experiencing a slight increase in his Physique, his skin had become even more alluring; tighter and smoother, with pores shrunken to the size of needlepoints. With a closer look, his skin now seemed flawless and creamy, with a sheen similar to that of a jade.

He had become less of an ordinary person. Luo Yuan shook his head, breaking his reverie as he continued to dry himself.

Luo Yuan also had his clothes washed after his bath. Having its fabric synthesized from the feathers of a mutated beast, his clothes were non-absorbent and was completely dry after several wrings, right after taking it out of water. As Luo Yuan headed back to the dormitory after getting dressed, he was greeted by the lieutenant officer that came by in the morning, already waiting at the door with another two soldiers.

“Comrade Luo Yuan, the leader has commanded me to inform you that we will be departing this evening at 8 o’clock. If you wish to bring your battle beast along, bring it in immediately,” said the lieutenant, once he spotted Luo Yuan.

“Thank you," said Luo Yuan.

“I am merely obeying orders,” said the lieutenant without so much as a crack of a smile. With a stern face, he continued, “Civilians are not supposed to wander around like that, please come with me."

Luo Yuan returned to the bedroom, put down the washbowls and took his Zhanmadao, before following the officer out of the military base. He noticed that almost all the containers have been moved, with only a few trucks still waiting in line. At this rate, everything would be ready in less than half an hour. Luo Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and continued to follow the lieutenant onto a wheeled armored vehicle.

Dusk has begun to descend upon them, and the sky darkened gingerly.

After half an hour, upon Luo Yuan’s request, the armoured vehicle stopped at the foot of mountain.

“Is it here? It doesn’t seem like your beast is anywhere around at all.” The lieutenant said.

Luo Yuan sized up the surroundings with a glance; they had originally parted ways here. He then responded, "It could be wandering around close by."

“Should we take you around to look for it?” He frowned.

“No, it should not be too far from here." said Luo Yuan confidently. He placed his hand onto his lips, and blew a sharp whistle. The sound echoed endlessly between the valleys.

Then, Luo Yuan began to wait patiently.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes... and soon, a whole three minutes had passed, but not even a slightest movement was seen. A few soldiers could not help but to whisper among themselves.

“It’s here.” Luo Yuan said suddenly.

Just as the lieutenant was about to speak, he felt a slight tremor on the ground. He followed the direction of the sound and looked towards the distance, only to see a cloud of dust slowly forming, some few kilometers away. A blurry, small dot was moving at high speed towards their direction. At first glance, it seemed to only be a little spot, but as it came closer, its form had rapidly magnified.

Moving at the speed of light, the rumbling sound could be heard from afar, akin to the sound from a high-speed rail before the apocalypse occurred.

The lieutenant inhaled a breath of cold air, and subconsciously tightened his grip on the handgun. Until he was able to compose himself, he noticed that he had broken out in cold sweat. With such an incredible speed, he would be no match against the level five mutated beast.

The giant lizard ran wildly towards them, and was more excited when it saw Luo Yuan.

Until it was approximately ten meters from his master, it suddenly remembered its hard-earned lesson. Its body then came to an abrupt halt, akin to how a brakes of a car would. The inertia from the stopping motion of its gargantuous body brought about a huge impact to its foot, which caused the cement on the road to crack, leaving a series of potholes from where it stood.

The lieutenant, blown by the strong gust, could not help but to stare helplessly at the cement road that they had spent so much effort and resources to build. It was now reduced to a complete mess, as if barraged with artillery. His face twitched slightly in frustration, but as they were already leaving tonight and may not return, there was no point in worrying about the road conditions now.

The giant lizard lowered his head, and affectionately nudged Luo Yuan’s chest.

Despite its ferocious looking face, it was heart-warming and moving to watch.

Luo Yuan looked at the giant lizard’s level of loyalty, and was overcome by emotions. Despite releasing him into the wild for a few days, he had not expected that his pet’s level of loyalty could possibly increase – now at a staggering 87 points.

Looking at the fresh wounds on its body, it was clearly not smooth-sailing for the giant lizard. This was why its loyalty level increased. By comparison, it truly recognized the difference between good and bad living conditions.

With such level of loyalty, it now seemed like it would not object to any of Luo Yuan’s orders. Feeling satisfied, he gave the lizard’s head at pat, and instead of getting back onto the truck, he leapt onto the back of the giant lizard. Upon Luo Yuan’s signal, the few dazed soldiers finally responded, started the armored vehicle and moved forward.

At the same time, the giant lizard also began to move, as it effortlessly kept up with the team.