Epoch of Twilight

Luo Yuan slowly regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was seeing double. He blinked a few times, and his vision became normal again. Realizing that he was in an unfamiliar environment, Luo Yuan grew cautious. He was looking for his Zhanmadao, but he could not find it. Suddenly, an unimaginable pain hit him, almost knocking him out. Even though he was very perseverant, he could not help but let out a moan.

"Are you awake?" a girl said in surprise.

The voice sounded very familiar. When he recalled who it was, Luo Yuan stopped struggling and sat up.

"Where are we?" Only then did he realize that his voice was husky. He was actually on the verge of losing his voice completely.

"In prison!" said Wen Yujie.

Suddenly, Luo Yuan’s head started hurting immensely. He calmed himself down and asked, "What happened? Why are we here? Where are the others?"

"I have no idea. While we were on our way back, the guards surrounded us and took us away. I heard that Lieutenant Xu and the rest were getting ready for a mutiny when the Desert City lost contact with the Reconstruction Area. They said that we’re implicated in this, but we will be released as soon as they find out what’s actually happening," Wen Yujie said with hope.

Luo Yuan’s eyes were slightly closed. He was trying his very best not to think. He was tired after that short conversation. After a while, he opened his eyes and said, "How long was I in a coma?"

"Three days. I thought you were going to die, but you got better every day."

"Were you the one who saved me?"

"No, I’m not capable of doing that. It was Lieutenant Xu who asked me to take care of you before we were placed in this cell," said Wen Yujie shyly. Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something, but she looked hesitant to tell him. "Oh... There’s something I want to tell you, but please don’t be angry."

"What is it?" Luo Yuan asked.

"During the interrogation, I told them that we’re husband and wife. You were badly injured and in a coma, so they made an exception to allow us to stay in the same cell," Wen Yujie said, clenching her teeth as she mustered her courage. She was blushing.

Luo Yuan could not help but cough. He thought for awhile before he said discreetly, "Can’t blame you for that. After all, you were just being nice. Alright, I’m tired. I need to take a rest."

Suddenly, he realized that Wen Yujie’s mentality was very different from his. She was scarily naive, which made her seem out of place amid the apocalypse. She was one of the aboriginal people who had just moved there at the beginning of the apocalypse. She had never experienced any sinister events, so that explained everything.

...

When Luo Yuan closed his eyes to check his condition, he realized that it was worse than he’d imagined. Not only could he not concentrate his Will temporarily, but even his Sensory Perception had deteriorated to a level lower than ordinary people’s. He could not move his body either. This was the worst injury he had ever suffered. It was unbelievable that he was even alive considering his condition.

He brought up the system silently, and the attributes panel appeared before him.

"Character: Luo Yuan"

"Occupation: Hunter"

"Level: 10"

"Experience:24,720/153,600"

"Attributes"

"Strength: 7 (15)"

"Dexterity: 6 (15)"

"Physique: 6+5 (14)"

"Intelligence: 14 (14)"

"Sensory Perception: 14+1 (14)"

"Will: 15+1 (15)"

"Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17, Computers 9, Dancing 1, Art 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9, Socializing 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand to Hand Combat 19, Sword Skill 6, Gun Skill 6, Casting 15"

"Special Skills: Identification Technique, Synthesization Technique, Detection Technique"

"Natural Abilities: Earth Stomp (Level-5)"

"Status: Severely Injured"

"Unassigned Attribute Points: 0"

"Unassigned Skill Points: 0"

"Incomplete Missions: None"

"Haunted Locust Heart"

"Rarity: Blue"

"Weight: 100g"

"Materials: Spirit-Based Active Crystal"

"Additional Abilities: Will+1, Sensory Perception+1"

"Remarks: This is a rare active crystal, whose value is far higher than its assessment. If you carry it with you, it could speed up the Will and Sensory Perception consumed as well as level them up.

Luo Yuan frowned. The attributes panel, which was usually green, was now an alarming red. Apart from his sub-attributes, the rest of his attributes had suffered a steep drop, especially his Strength, Dexterity and Physique, which were no more than +7 (the figures in the brackets were only their original points).

"No wonder I can’t move and my breath is short. My body feels like it’s been pressed against by a ghost as heavy as a giant rock." Luo Yuan felt stressed out.

A normal male would usually have an attribute of +10, while an adult female would have +9, a teenage girl above 10 would have +8, and kids would have +7. His Strength and Dexterity were almost the same as a six-year-old kid’s.

Such weak strength could obviously not support his 90 kilos. The pain felt like a fire burning in him, and even breathing was painful for him. Apparently, his lungs must have gotten injured too.

However, there was no change to his three major sub-attributes. Perhaps the damage was only critical on the outside. There was no other explanation why these three sub-attributes would have maintained their points.

Luo Yuan was worried about Jiahui and Shishi, considering that he had been there for three days. Now that the situation was unstable, perhaps Xu Zhiqiang’s speculations would be proven right. If that happened, he would have been involved in the conspiracy, but he hoped that the rest would not be implicated as well. Who would have been so greedy after all?

He felt a chill go through his body. He took a deep breath and pushed away all his concerns. Considering that he was pretty much helpless now, what with his strength being weaker than a kid’s, such thoughts would only add to his worries. Instead of piling up unhealthy thoughts, he had to focus on his recovery.

Luo Yuan emptied his mind. Ignoring the intense pain in his brain, he tried to concentrate his Will forcefully. Usually, that would have been as easy as breathing, but now it was extremely difficult. Before he knew it, he was dripping in sweat, and the bed was completely wet. The immense pain made his body twitch. A few minutes later, he passed out once again.

...

Sweet drops of water moisturized his dry lips. Luo Yuan swallowed the water and regained his consciousness. Wen Yujie put down the bowl of water clumsily while flipping her hair. The feminine gesture surprised Luo Yuan. From what he remembered, this woman had been just like a guy to him.

"How long was I out this time?" he asked in a husky voice.

"One day!" Wen Yujie said. She was clearly upset, and her eyes were red. "You should have been sent to the hospital, but these people just don’t care."

"I am a repeat offender. Even the death sentence is not enough for me. They would never send me to the hospital," said Luo Yuan while shaking his head.

"But we are innocent. I believe that justice will be served one day," Wen Yujie said.

"The world is not just black and white. Nevermind, let’s not talk about it now," Luo Yuan sighed before he continued, "Did you hear any news recently? Did anyone come here?"

"No one, except the people who bring the food," Wen Yujie said in disappointment.

Luo Yuan did not feel hungry. Apparently, Wen Yujie had fed him while he had been unconscious. He felt warmth in his heart. He brought up the attributes panel, relieved to feel alive again. In one day, his Dexterity and Physique had gained +1 each. Everything was going great. Luo Yuan comforted Wen Yujie, "Don’t worry, everything will get better. Maybe we will be able to leave this place soon."

...

By their fifth day in the prison, Luo Yuan could move slowly, but not stand up yet. Only then did he manage to see the cell clearly. The room was overwhelmingly small. It was not even five square meters. Apart from the bunk bed and the two mattresses, there was nothing else in it. There wasn’t even a washroom, only a wooden spittoon in the corner.

It was hard for Luo Yuan to imagine a virgin like Wen Yujie using the spittoon in the presence of a man she did not know.

"Such a naive girl!" Luo Yuan sighed. He felt like he owed her so much.

That day, Luo Yuan’s Will showed signs of concentrating. This time he tried to control himself and avoid passing out, but he failed. He was exhausted. Later that night, he tried again and succeeded.

He calmed himself down and looked at the panel carefully. The condition of his body was bad. A small portion of his cells were dead, and the rest of his body was dehydrated. His looked pale, and most of his blood vessels were clogged, while some parts were bruised. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Although the panel could not show his brain’s condition, it was safe to assume that it was not doing well either.

Luo Yuan checked once more before he started the healing process. It was very difficult for him to remain in a state that allowed him to concentrate his Will. He had to set priorities though. As the channel that sent nutrients to his body, his heart and blood vessels were crucial for his metabolism, so they had to be his first priority.

His Will was like an invisible giant hand healing his blood vessels. It was very effective. This was mainly because Luo Yuan always used his Will to train his body, so the cells that were messed up were nicely tidied up by his Will. The healing was slightly imprinted in his system, which gave him an unimaginable power to control his physical body, resulting in less Will consumption for him.

His weak heart starting pumping faster, and the dull blood vessel walls became elastic and bright again. Numerous clogged blood vessels were unclogged. Before this, his physique had not been human-like, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a green level super-lifeform.

Under the intense pumping of his heart, his blood flowed like a river with a swishing sound. A large amount of nutrients that were kept inside his body were broken down and, combined with his blood, they were sent to every part of his body. Even his capillaries were functioning smoothly.

Although the effect was not as efficient as using his Will, his fatally injured body had regained life. However, this was still too slow for Luo Yuan. There was a limit to his everyday consumption of Will. Each time it was only enough to fix something partially. Judging by the damage, Luo Yuan would need five days to recover, excluding the damage in his brain. But then again, what he lacked the most was time. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. He had to prepare for the worst, and he did not want to leave his life to fate or some evil plan or spontaneous idea.

After his blood vessels and heart were fixed, he used his remaining Will to control his heart rate. His heart started to beat slower, and soon Luo Yuan was able to feel the Earth Pulse. The Earth Pulse had existed for many years and left a heavy, majestic trace over time. It felt like it was deep in the ground and everywhere at the same time.

A system notification popped up in Luo Yuan’s head.

"Realization of the Earth Pulse: In this state, you will gain extra strength. Ability 1: Untiring Stamina; Ability 2: Super Healing. It will consume your Sensory Perception in the process until it is completely exhausted."

Luo Yuan slowly opened his eyes, which were dim, yet calm. His pale face was blushing.

"What... What happened to you?" Wen Yujie stammered in shock as he struggled to sit up. Luo Yuan looked like he was suffering from terminal lucidity.

"Help me get down from the bed," Luo Yuan said calmly. He thought lying on the bed would prevent him from executing the Earth Pulse to the fullest.

Wen Yujie tried to say something, but she could not utter a word. She ran to Luo Yuan immediately.

When she touched his arm, she was shocked to discover that his body was scarily warm. His heart was pounding like a beating drum, and although there was a layer of clothes on him, she could still feel his strong power clearly.

Luo Yuan stood up and stumbled, almost falling to the floor. Wen Yujie, who had not been paying attention, was shocked, but she helped him up immediately. As an evolved person, she was naturally stronger than the average girl. Although Luo Yuan was almost 90 kilos, she could pick him up without breaking a sweat. However, standing next to Luo Yuan, who was 180 centimeters, Wen Yujie, who was not even 165 centimeters, looked like a little girl. Their bodies were leaning against each other as she blushed.

Luo Yuan had evolved to the highest point, so there was an extra charming vibe to him that naturally attracted attention. However, Luo Yuan remained calm. He looked in front of him, staring into the empty space. He remained on the spot, not moving at all as his breathing slowed down.

He slowly removed his hands from Wen Yujie’s arm and asked her to back away from him.

Wen Yujie hesitated. At his persistence, she took a few steps back, ready to support him if she needed to. Without her support, Luo Yuan’s body shook at first, but he managed to stand still eventually. Ever since he had gained +1 in his Sensory Perception, his Earth Pulse had become level-5, its effect becoming more than twice as powerful. He could feel a boundless, unimaginable power beneath him, as well as his body healing rapidly. Luo Yuan let out a breath and tried to move forward.