Apocalypse: My Apartment Has Traits - Chapter 40 - 36: The Ruse of Self-Injury
Chapter 40: Chapter 36: The Ruse of Self-Injury
The night-time beast tide of the Level 2 Safe House passed by uneventfully for Su Lin.
The days slipped by quietly in the routine of diligent training and spending time with Su Tongxi.
Four days passed in a row.
Su Lin had mastered all thirty-six forms of the Dawn Breathing Technique, but the treasure meat had already run out two days ago, causing his training progress to suddenly become slow and arduous.
The three catties of ordinary beast meat sent by Zhao Zhu had also long been consumed.
Thankfully, his uncle timely sent over five catties of ordinary beast meat, barely sustaining his and Su Tongxi’s training from being completely interrupted.
However, with two people sharing five catties of meat, no matter how frugal they were, it would eventually run out.
Su Lin was forced to voluntarily reduce his training time to prevent physical depletion.
Go ask his grandfather or uncle for more?
He feared they might already be stretched thin themselves.
Grandfather had to deal with the beast tide every night and needed to rest during the day;
Uncle’s old injuries had just healed, and his sister-in-law had to take care of the elderly and young at home.
Adding to this, the undercurrents within the village and the strange situation outside forced everyone to lie low cautiously to avoid being targeted, making it difficult to gather resources outside, leading to an inevitable depletion of supplies.
Su Lin really couldn’t bring himself to ask for more money or meat.
The number of people going out to gather resources in the village was dwindling, and more and more idle villagers were wandering around during the day.
Su Lin noticed this, a chill running through his heart:
“If this goes on, the village might come to a halt, cutting off resources?”
On the rooftop, Su Lin suppressed his worries, forcing himself to concentrate more as he aimed his hand crossbow.
Su Tongxi, beside him, threw a pebble at an extremely fast speed.
Bang! The bowstring vibrated, and the crossbow arrow shot like a torrent, with a “snap” it precisely pierced through the pebble and deeply embedded itself in the large rock behind.
The surface of that rock was already covered with a dense array of holes, a shocking sight.
Unable to keep up with the nutritional needs of martial training, Su Lin doubled his efforts in shooting practice.
After unlocking his skin lock, he realized the intricacies of this stage.
The golden wind moves, the cicada senses beforehand.
His skin’s perception of the outside world was incredibly sharp, allowing him to instantly detect even a gaze directed his way.
Let alone someone picking up a weapon, aiming a hand crossbow.
To use this hand crossbow, reinforced ten times over, to kill, Su Lin needed to shoot from over a hundred meters away, yet the hand crossbow retained peak power within three hundred meters.
However, for a primitive hand crossbow relying solely on the naked eye for aiming, a three hundred-meter distance was a massive challenge.
Even in his past life, he didn’t have the skill to hit targets precisely from a hundred meters away.
Luckily, the increased reflexes and visual acuity from unlocking the skin lock, along with persistent practice, meant he was barely considered a sharpshooter.
“Tomorrow! Just make it to tomorrow when the new term entries are available, and I’ll go hunt mutant beasts for money!”
This thought grew wild like weeds in Su Lin’s heart.
Having endured seven days since arriving, finally the moment to acquire a second entry was near, and the wait was excruciating!
The anxious feelings unsettled him, leading to two failed shots afterward.
Neither hit the mark.
Su Tongxi, holding the pebble, asked concernedly, “Brother Kirin, what’s wrong? Tired?”
He had just hit thirteen consecutive shots, then suddenly missed two in a row.
Su Lin paused, reluctantly setting down the hand crossbow: “A bit, yes. Can’t concentrate.”
He was naturally impatient, and thinking about how the new entry would soon be at hand left him restless, eager to sleep till dawn came.
Yet this excitement might cause him insomnia tonight.
Su Tongxi smiled sweetly: “Let’s go rest for a bit then. Brother Kirin has been working too hard these past few days, it’s painful to watch.”
“Alright.”
Just as they descended the stairs, the upgraded, heavy iron door of the Level 2 Safe House resounded with urgent knocks, and outside Hou Yong’s voice called:
“Master Lin! Master Lin! Are you there?! Something big happened!”
Su Lin’s heart sank, what happened again?
He quickly stepped forward to open the door.
As the twelve-door bolts were undone, Hou Yong, no longer requiring bandages for his injured hand, entered with a face full of delight:
“Master Lin! Something big happened! Truly huge!”
Seeing his exuberant demeanor, half of Su Lin’s worries eased.
But as he continued to shout “big event” without explaining, he was making everyone impatient.
Su Lin’s brows knitted in irritation and he shouted:
“Cut the crap! Spit it out! You’re being loud and annoying!”
“Heh, I’m just excited…” Hou Yong laughed sheepishly, scratching his head, and then composed his monkey-like face and lowered his voice seriously:
“Master Lin, today the Hunting Group ran into a mutant beast leader on the outskirts!”
Su Lin’s heart skipped a beat and he frowned:
“That the team was attacked is serious news, but why are you so happy about it? Do you have a grudge against someone in there?”
“Yeah, Master Lin, you guessed it!”
Hou Yong’s eyes widened, his tone filled with schadenfreude satisfaction:
“The news is out—Chang Sanheng, that old dog, was seriously injured on the spot!”
…
…
Chang Family’s mansion.
The scene from the Gouhuo Tavern with injured people everywhere had now reappeared at Chang Family’s home.
Injured personnel lay groaning on floor mats filling the hall, with a few barefoot doctors knowledgeable in basic first aid bustling around, overwhelmed.
Fortunately, this time, with Captain Chang Sanheng in command, the casualties were much fewer than during the previous attack on Team Two.
But as a price, Chang Sanheng personally suffered serious injuries while covering his team, and two carefully trained tenants were lost.
At this moment, he lay in his third-floor bedroom resting with closed eyes.
His son, Chang Kun, stood by idly, deep in thought.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting diagonal shadows on the bookshelf, while half a cup of warm water on the bedside table continued to emit thin steam.
Knock, knock.
The door was knocked on.
A voice came from outside: “Master, Squad Leader Zhong is here.”
Chang Sanheng suddenly opened his eyes and spoke in a deep voice: “Quick, invite the squad leader in!”
With a creak, the door was pushed open.
A robust, muscular man with a solid presence walked in; it was the Hunting Group’s leader, Zhong Wubin.
Chang Kun quickly stood up: “Squad Leader Zhong.”
“Mm.” Zhong Wubin nodded casually, dressed in black workout gear with an imposing and profound aura. Just looking at him filled Chang Kun with fear.
Chang Sanheng cast a stern glance at his son:
“Go stand at the door. Don’t come in unless called!”
Chang Kun, as though granted amnesty, timidly slipped out.
The door closed.
Chang Sanheng had a bitter smile on his face as he looked at Zhong Wubin:
“Squad Leader… your trick with the injuries was too real. I’m seriously hurt, and two carefully nurtured tenants are lost… was this cost truly worth it?”
“Mutant beasts can’t be controlled, so we had to take some risks. It’s hard on you, but it’s all worth it.”
Zhong Wubin’s eyes lowered, calm as stagnant water:
“As long as we can facilitate the merger with Black Scale Village, I can obtain enough treasure meat to break open the bone lock and enter the Realm of Rebirth.”
Chang Sanheng frowned, still filled with doubt:
“But will Black Scale Village… really play by the rules and hand over the treasure meat obediently?”
“They have no choice.”
Zhong Wubin stood by the window with his voice deep, yet filled with undeniable firmness:
“Because just across this wilderness, Yun Village… has already birthed a First-Transformed Martial Artist.”
“Yun Village?! A First-Transformed Martial Artist appeared?! When did this happen?!”
Chang Sanheng jerked, nearly knocking over the water cup on the bedside, his face lost all color as a chill climbed up his spine.
“Mid-last month.” Zhong Wubin’s tone was as indifferent as commenting on a trivial matter.
“Last month…”
Chang Sanheng’s face turned completely grim, muttering to himself.
This meant time was of the essence.
Zhong Wubin turned, his gaze as sharp as an eagle’s:
“If I don’t quickly become a First-Transformed Martial Artist, even if Yun Village doesn’t actively cause us trouble, once they gather enough materials and advance to ’Township’ status, the rules will force us to integrate to fill the population!”
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
