The summer light shimmered brightly early in the morning. There were only two days left before the start of the special training camp.
Tang Hong opened his eyes. He rolled over and laid on his bed in a daze before tossing back and forth. However, he couldn't go back to sleep anymore.
How smooth…
His left hand swept across the particularly smooth bedsheet.
He reached out for his phone.
The alarm clock hadn't been triggered yet.
When he glanced at the time, indeed, it was not yet 7 AM.
"Strange."
He murmured silently.
Maybe it was because of the increase in his Willpower but it was basically impossible for him to go back to sleep after waking up. His Willpower was similar to that of a blood vessel with its blood pressure being cut off somewhere. The looming pressure forced his body to wake up.
Tang Hong massaged his temples.
He felt that if he continued like this, he might die.
'It's like walking on a tightrope…'
At first, he didn't notice it.
It was only after he compared his sleeping time this month to last month did Tang Hong finally realize what was going on.
On average, he was sleeping 56 minutes less than before every day since last month.
'Is this because of my increased Willpower?'
Tang Hong sat up, squinting his eyes.
He scanned the warm-colored wallpaper in the dim bedroom twice.
The wallpaper was embroidered with light golden patterns.
It had an elegant yellow of patterns as its background.
After getting out of the bed and standing by the wall, Tang Hong's fingertips swept across the wallpaper patterns.
'Has my Willpower become so overpowered that I do not need too much rest anymore? Are those Transcendent beings who have broken through the limits of Willpower also experienced this side effect?'
'There are only two days left before the start of the special training camp.'
'Two days…'
His sense of urgency became stronger and stronger to the extent that Tang Hong couldn't wait to figure out more truths about the invasion of the gods from the different dimensions.
He also wanted to know the truth behind his own abnormalities.
His plan remained the same, he would only increase his Willpower according to the situation and only if it was necessary. Of course, he might have to increase his Willpower for a chance to obtain first place in the entrance test if he had no other choice but to do so.
After all, those reward points were basically as good as cash.
'Becoming a Transcendent being by breaking through the limit.'
'Invading gods from different dimensions…'
In fact, what made Tang Hong curious was that—since those terrifying gods truly existed and it seemed that there were quite a lot of them.
How were the Transcendents able to fight back so far?
Also, how did they manage to hide all of these in the eyes of the public?
Regardless of victory or defeat, the battle between both sides would surely alarm those around them. The Memory Eraser alone didn't seem to be enough to conceal the truth.
This was what bothered Tang Hong the most after thinking about it in retrospect.
Of course, the Memory Eraser was very powerful.
But if the gods manifested in the city, it was useless even if Memory Erasers were used on the spot. With the development of modern technology and the Internet itself, a few hours was enough for the images of those gods to circulate throughout the Internet.
'Also…'
'Why did the Tiansheng Organization choose to entrap that god in Yunhai City?'
The more Tang Hong thought about it, the more confused he became.
The wilderness outside the city was so big.
The world was so vast, so placing their laboratory anywhere out there was better than placing it directly inside a city.
Was there any reason that forced them to place their laboratories inside the city?
'Forget it'
'Fang Nanxun made it very clear…'
'Only when I officially graduated from the special training camp and became a Transcendent being would I be allowed to participate in the task of fighting against the gods…'
'If I can't even graduate, it didn't matter if I want to fight those gods with my life on the line, the Yellow River Organization won't allow me to.'
If I fail, then I will forget about all of these. My memories will be erased and I will also be compensated handsomely.'
He would then be able to return to an ordinary life surrounded by ordinary people.
If this was back in early May when he had just received the [Power of One] support system which was the reason why he was coerced to sign that contract with the Yellow River Organization, Tang Hong would've been tempted by the chance to return to a normal life.
But now… Tang Hong wasn't willing!
He was at the prime of his youth…
He was a greedy young man that wanted a dream-like life similar to the life that Fang Nanxun had lent him since that day.
He didn't want to stay alive by hiding.
He didn't even want to wait for a few months, let alone a few years.
What's more, seeing that god with his own eyes and personally experiencing Fang Nanxun's ghost-like movements with speeds similar to the wind, Tang Hong's deepest desires were ignited. Furthermore, it was only getting stronger.
'If the Transcendents are in danger…'
Tang Hong thought about it carefully.
He could find excuses to avoid risks, hide his strength, and quietly accumulate Individual Value for himself.
'I am thinking the wrong way again.'
'Persecution delusions truly are harmful.'
Tang Hong pinched his chin.
No matter what happened or what situation he was in, it wasn't appropriate to just think of hiding, avoiding, and giving up.
Tang Hong knew his path.
Show off his potential and show off the extent of his progress!
Once they recognized that he was a genius or a super-genius by the standards set by the Yellow River Organization, not only would he be safe from danger, but someone would also naturally be willing to pay the price and help him pave the way towards his boundless future.
He would have a lot of resources in reach, and he could get whatever he wanted.
When that happened, then he would be able to obtain Individual Value more quickly than when he was alone. After all, he would have the backing of an entire organization by this time.
This was a win-win situation that benefited both parties!
Hiding his talent and potential was a waste.
In the case that he met a god one day, he would definitely die if he kept hiding his abilities.
He wouldn't be able to resist at all and he wouldn't even know how he was killed.
Tang Hong had already once encountered a god.
But he still had to know just what exactly was a god from a different dimension?!
This was like playing a game where your character never died even once throughout the entire length of the game. Since your character never died, you could say that your character was invincible. But your teammates were losing and being massacred by the other side.
You might be able to win the battle of proving that you were invincible, but the deaths of your teammates still meant that you have lost the war. If this was to happen in real life, then how was there supposed to be a chance of winning?
"No matter how I look at it."
"Joining the Yellow River Organization and entering the special training camp is probably the best choice that I've ever done in my life…"
Now, Tang Hong really wanted to know what the standards of being a super-genius were.
It was said to be very difficult to be considered as a super-genius.
Therefore, he needed more Individual Value points.
As long as he had enough Individual Value points, he could become a genius even if he wasn't truly one.
'First-time experiences.'
'Long-term gains.'
So far he had experienced many first-time experiences, but he currently has one reliable method for long-term gains. It would always be the first message that he would receive every time he woke up.
First-time experiences weren't that difficult to discover.
But Tang Hong hoped to find another method for stable and long-term gains.
Something that would be similar to the first task of getting up early every day.
This kind of endless supply of Individual Value points was the true foundation for becoming stronger.
But to be honest, he already had some clue about this.
Transcendent Technique!
First of all, the difficulty of using Transcendent Techniques was definitely up to the standard.
Next, once he successfully learned the technique, he would have to train it every day.
The difficulty of practicing boxing alone, the mood, and the time threshold could all be met.
All of the important factors were present, so an increase could be triggered.
It was impossible not to.
However, after practicing the Fist Technique for more than half a month, he had yet to successfully reach the minimum standard.
He was always slightly off every single time. Although it was obvious that every time it would be more perfect than the previous time. It was like 0.9 to 0.99 to 0.999, then to 0.9999.
But not only was Tang Hong troubled over this, but Fang Nanxun was even more worried.
…
The day passed by again.
The hot and dreary weather continued to envelop the entire city.
Tang Hong leaned on the sofa and thought for a while.
Then, he sent a WeChat message to Fang Nanxun. "Can I practice the Fist Technique by myself? It's not necessary for you to look after me from the sidelines, right?"
There was no reply.
Tang Hong waited for almost 20 minutes.
"No."
"If you did something wrong, the next thing you know is you're ruined. I invited a scholar from the Central Research Institute to Yunhai and that scholar will arrive the day after tomorrow. We are going to let him check what your current situation is…"
Fang Nanxun seemed very anxious because he didn't send a text message as a reply.
Instead, he sent a long voice message.
After listening, Tang Hong clenched his fists.
Afterwards, he slowly released them. "Just a little bit. I am just a little bit away from truly grasping the concept."
This Transcendent Technique was very likely to be his second long-term benefit.
At the same time, Tang Hong somewhat understood why Preliminary Transcendents like Zhang Jing had gone crazy.
The road to Transcendence truly was too painful.
It might be because of his strong willpower, but the trace of worry in his heart quickly disappeared.
"Let's do something fun."
Tang Hong played with his mobile phone. He opened WeChat and then logged out. He opened QQ and tabbed out. He opened the music player and after listening to just half of the song, he decided to browse the news.
After reading a few lines, he tabbed out of his phone back to the home interface.
He stared at the date and the weather in a daze.
Yunhai City, June 28th.
Southeast wind, overcast to rain, 30°C to 24°C.
Suddenly, his heart moved.
Without any reason, he pressed the Fish app icon with his fingertip.
"I'll just take a look."
"This doesn't break the law, right?"
Tang Hong entered the Fish app seller page.
It showed that the two orders have been completed and the other party gave him good comments.
The other was an order that he had just sent via express delivery to the buyer.
Flicking up and down twice, Tang Hong quietly clicked on the third order's page. He looked at the buyer informed of the beret girl. She didn't have any contact information. No WeChat nor QQ number. It seemed that the other party didn't fancy leaving such information.
Right…
The transaction was completed in person yesterday.
Tang Hong clicked on the portrait and entered the interface for editing his bio.
He thought about himself as a meticulous seller in the new era.
Honest, truthful, and courteous in service.
'In that case, providing after-sales service should be justified, right?'
'It just makes sense, right?'
Along the process of asking her about her thoughts in regards to the clothes, he could probably even ask her if she was single. Of course, this is within the scope of the law and his responsibilities. After all, those clothes were for men and one couldn't help but be curious.
'I am just a man that is too responsible!'
Although he couldn't figure out what kind of after-sales service could be provided for two pure cotton scarves, these didn't prevent him from trying to dive into this idea.
But just at this moment, at the topmost part of the chat interface, behind the beret girl's nickname, a line of ellipses appeared!
It appeared so suddenly!
Tang Hong was horrified.
"A Malfunction?"
Tang Hong stopped typing.
The ellipses that indicated that she was typing behind her nickname also disappeared. After four or five seconds, the ellipses appeared once more before they disappeared as fast as they appeared.
Tang Hong typed in a series of question marks.
But instead of sending them, he exited the app.
The app must be malfunctioning.
He went back into the app and clicked on the chat interface again.
The ellipses appeared once more.
Was this app haunted?!
Tang Hong sent a message. "?"
After he sent it, a message also came from the other side. "?"
He couldn't tell which message came first.
It seemed to be an automatic reply from a smart robot.
Tang Hong was speechless.
Not knowing whether he should give up or not, he sent another reply. "???"
"???"
"???"
Looking at the neatly arranged rows of question marks with one above, one below, one left, and the other one to the right. The question marks looked so harmonious together. Tang Hong felt annoyed and amused at the same time.
Did he have a special ability related to breaking things?!
Whatever he used, it would always malfunction. A prime example of it was the [Power of One] support system!
'Garbage apps are ruining my youth.'
'But it's okay. After all, being single makes me stronger…'
Tang Hong violently plugged the charging wire up his phone.
'It's time to go to bed, there are long days ahead…'
Countdown to the special training camp: Two Days.