After the establishment of the electric current drive, Chen Chong became even more low-key and rarely appeared in public.
After the performance of loyalty during the air raid, it seemed that those who secretly followed Chen Chong had been withdrawn. Chen Chong no longer saw Wei De and Lu Kai during work hours.
In the following days, Chen Chong did not see General Xie again. In order to avoid being discovered, he waited until the end of mealtime to collect his food and brought it back directly to avoid meeting other awakened in the territory.
In fact, after the establishment of the electric current drive, Chen Chong's appetite became even greater. The small amount of food he received twice a day was simply not enough, leaving him hungry all day long. If it weren't for the large amount of energy provided by the "electric therapy" every night for his cultivation, his progress would probably regress instead of advancing.
Apart from recharging the main god, the "electric therapy" not only provided a shortcut to achieve electric current drive, but also greatly helped in the overall cultivation during the electric current drive phase. Now Chen Chong can tolerate a longer "electric therapy" time at night, and the amount of current passing through gradually increases, even affecting the night-time power generation at the power plant.
This is also thanks to Chen Chong choosing to start the "electric therapy" in the middle of the night, otherwise he might have been noticed by Old Xu.
In addition to continuing to cultivate the "Ultimate Infinite Qi Gong" using the "electric therapy" as the main method, Chen Chong focused more on the "Iron Body Indestructible Divine Art". He became more proficient in the twenty-seven secret techniques of refining the body, and now he could complete a full cycle in less than three hours.
Whether it was due to achieving the "electric current drive" or completely refining his body with the "Bone Cleansing Pill", Chen Chong's progress in cultivating the "Iron Body Indestructible Divine Art" could be described as rapid. Even with inadequate nutrition, the tempering of his true energy caused his height and muscles to grow rapidly. His chest, legs, arms, and waist grew thicker almost every day. The muscular fibers seemed to be forged like steel. On the seventh day of taking the "Bone Cleansing Pill" and the tenth day of practicing the "Iron Body Indestructible Divine Art", Chen Chong suddenly realized that he had grown into a towering iron tower man, just two or three centimeters short of reaching a height of 1.9 meters!
This obvious and rapid change was beyond Chen Chong's expectations.
...
"This style is a bit off."
As the sky gradually darkened, after finishing the training of the "Iron Body Indestructible Divine Art," Chen Chong held a mirror he borrowed from Old Xu and kept examining the dark and swollen skin on his face and the powerful physique that was expanding. He self-mockingly thought:
"The combined effect of the 'Bone Cleansing Pill' and the 'Iron Body Indestructible Divine Art' is so powerful? If someone notices my changes and reports them to General Xie, it will be troublesome."
He didn't really care about the change in his appearance, but rather the potential consequences of such obvious changes.
In the past ten days, Chen Chong had tried his best to avoid contact with others, even when going out, he covered himself tightly. Although he could still hide his physique, he couldn't change his height.
Originally, Chen Chong's height was barely reaching 1.8 meters, but now it had increased by nearly ten centimeters. Old Xu had noticed his changes a few days ago, but Chen Chong casually came up with an excuse of wearing inner heightening shoes to brush it off. Because of his reclusive nature and rarely appearing in public, apart from Old Xu, no one else had noticed the obvious changes in Chen Chong's body.
However, the problem was that if his body continued to grow at this rate, he wouldn't be able to hide it anymore and it would definitely be discovered by General Xie, who would suspect the secret behind his transformation.
Moreover, Chen Chong clearly remembered the method General Xie used to control Qiao Jun, the extremely sinister and suspicious bloodline gu. It was likely that it would be used on him when the time came.
"When the enemy advances, retreat; when the enemy retreats, advance."
Chen Chong stared at himself in the mirror, his face showing a grim smile due to the dark and swollen skin:
"Now, who will prevail is still unknown!"
He put down the mirror and left the room.
It had been half a month since Chen Chong arrived at the Crimson Territory, and today was the day he was supposed to go out to receive his allocated supplies.
...
In the supply quota, there were not only a large amount of jerky and dry rations to alleviate his hunger, but more importantly, there were those spiritual fruits that he definitely couldn't give up.
Taking advantage of the fading light and poor visibility, Chen Chong walked out of the accommodation building and arrived at the storage building where the supply manager, Gu Jun, was located.
After identity verification, Chen Chong met Gu Jun in an office, along with another unexpected person: the head of the supervisory team, Yin Hu!
"Chen Chong...?"
Sitting on the chair, taking advantage of the dim light from the desk lamp, Yin Hu, who noticed that Chen Chong had obviously grown taller, was visibly stunned for a moment. His eyes were filled with suspicion as he carefully scanned Chen Chong, not knowing what he was thinking.
On the other hand, Gu Jun was slightly surprised to see Chen Chong. After a moment of thought, he remembered something and said calmly, "Are you here to receive your supply quota?"
Compared to Yin Hu, who had more contact with Chen Chong, Gu Jun had only seen him two or three times in the territory. Coupled with the dim lighting in the room, he felt that Chen Chong seemed a bit different from his memory, but he didn't think too much about it.
Unexpectedly encountering Yin Hu here, Chen Chong raised an eyebrow but did not pay him any attention. Instead, he replied, "Yes, if I'm not mistaken, half a month should have passed, right?"
After searching through the ledger, Gu Jun nodded and stood up, "You're right, wait a moment."
Just like last time, Gu Jun showed no intention of making things difficult and nonchalantly left the room to get the supplies from the warehouse. With Gu Jun gone, the room was only left with Yin Hu and Chen Chong.
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere fell into a strange silence, as if both had their own thoughts.
Chen Chong was confident and full of energy because of his rebirth, while Yin Hu clearly noticed that Chen Chong had changed significantly compared to his memory, arousing suspicion.
After a while, Yin Hu took the initiative to break the silence and said calmly, "Chen Chong, it seems like we haven't seen each other for a while. I forgot to ask, are you still comfortable with the work at the power plant? If you're not satisfied, I can help you change."
Chen Chong grinned and chuckled, "Thank you, Captain Yin Hu, but the work at the power plant is easy. I'll continue for a while longer."
"I see..."
Yin Hu's gaze flickered, and he smiled without showing his true intentions, "Then it's up to you."
The two men fell into a strange silence once again.
A few minutes later, Gu Jun appeared at the door with a large package and said to Chen Chong, "Count it and if everything is in order, just leave your handprint."
Chen Chong nodded, took the package, quickly counted the items, left his handprint on the ledger, and then left.
Meanwhile, Yin Hu discreetly glanced at Chen Chong's departing figure, his eyes revealing an uncertain and sinister glimmer.
When the night fell completely, Chen Chong, facing the dark night, returned to the power station again.
The heat wave hit, and the roar of the motors echoed in the factory building. The other five laborers in the power station had already finished work. Only Old Xu was wandering around bored.
Seeing Old Xu coming out of the motor room, Chen Chong raised his hand and shouted, "Old Xu, waiting for me? Why didn't we have a drink tonight?"
"No more drinking. I ran out of stock a few days ago."
The sudden voice startled Old Xu. He responded irritably at first, then turned around and stared at Chen Chong's tall and mighty figure with suspicion under the dim light. He couldn't help but say:
"I say, boy, is it my old eyes playing tricks on me, or did you eat something special? Why do I feel like not only have you grown taller, but your body also looks inflated?"
After half a month of getting to know each other, Chen Chong had already learned that Old Xu relied on his electrical knowledge and skills to survive in their territory. He was harmless by nature, and Chen Chong was just joking with him. He laughed and said, "Old Xu, who are you to look down on? I am at least an awakened individual now. I can eat and drink to my heart's content every day. What does it matter if I grow a bit bigger?"
"But it's too exaggerated for you to have such a rapid development in such a short time!"
Suppressing the urge to poke Chen Chong's muscles and see if he was a doll, Old Xu muttered to himself, not pursuing further or delving deeper.
In his heart, all awakened individuals were abnormal. They couldn't be understood by ordinary people like him based on common sense.
"You've run out of your stash? Then you're in for a treat."
Chen Chong chuckled and took out a bottle of alcohol from his pocket. "Old Xu, my quota has just been issued, and you're in luck."
Seeing the bottle that Chen Chong took out, Old Xu's eyes lit up, and he cast aside all doubts. He smiled and said, "Boy, you still have a conscience!"
...
Late at night, the motors in the power station kept roaring, while outside, it was quiet.
Old Xu was already drunk and sound asleep in his room. Chen Chong, on the other hand, went to a secluded corner of the motor room and started practicing systematically.
It wasn't yet the second half of the night, so he temporarily didn't use electrical therapy to cultivate Qigong. Instead, he assumed various complicated postures to practice the Iron Body chapter of the "Indestructible Diamond Technique".
During this period of training, besides his rapid increase in size, Chen Chong's skin all over his body showed a faint bluish-black color. And now, with the continuous change of twenty-seven secret postures, Chen Chong's blood and Qi surged. Every powerful muscle in his body trembled slightly, emitting an exaggerated iron-like color, making him appear as if he were made of steel.
And this naturally represented the remarkable effect of Chen Chong's training. He was not far from achieving the first stage of the "Indestructible Diamond Technique" - forging an iron body!
In this process, besides being nourished by true Qi, every fiber of Chen Chong's muscles felt like it was being hammered, becoming thicker, stronger, and tougher.
...
While Chen Chong silently cultivated in the power station, a figure approached silently in the dark night, like a ghost.
Yin Hu, like a leopard hunting in the jungle, moved without a sound and arrived outside the power station. His eyes gleamed with mysterious light.
Glancing at the row of ventilation windows three meters above the ground, Yin Hu jumped off the wall and effortlessly climbed up, then cast his gaze inside the power station.
In his line of sight, an iron crowbar stood silently in the corner, the interiors of five boilers were burning fiercely, emitting billowing hot air, and the boiler room was empty.
"As expected, there's something fishy!"
As his gaze swept back and forth, without finding Chen Chong's figure, Yin Hu smiled sinisterly:
"But unfortunately... you can't deceive me!"
The changes in Chen Chong's physique were particularly noticeable to Yin Hu, who had been in contact with him more. In just half a month, Chen Chong seemed like a completely different person compared to when he first arrived.
When awakened individuals were in close proximity, they could vaguely sense each other's life force intensity. When Chen Chong entered the room in the evening, Yin Hu felt a faint sense of threat. At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but upon careful consideration, he realized that there must be some significant changes in Chen Chong that he didn't know about, which gave him this feeling!
"There's only one exit in the power station, the main gate. He should still be inside."
"What could it be? What could make this kid's physique grow so rapidly, from an ordinary novice to a level that even I perceive as threatening? What secret does he hide?"
"Could he be an awakened individual with some dominant ability?"
"No, that can't be right. Even if it's a dominant ability, it needs to gradually manifest as the life force increases. Chen Chong is just the weakest novice, and even his spiritual fruit quota is the lowest grade. It's impossible for him to grow to such a level in just half a month."
"The power station... he chose to work at the power station voluntarily. Could it be related to this?"
Yin Hu licked his lips and pondered, unable to understand why Chen Chong had undergone such a great change. But now that he believed he had discovered Chen Chong's secret, excitement filled his eyes:
"I wonder if Gu Jun has noticed something off about this kid. I must quickly uncover his secret!"
After waiting for a moment and not seeing Chen Chong's trace, Yin Hu agilely jumped down from the high windowsill, making almost no sound. He swiftly approached the power station's main gate and stealthily slipped in.
The power station was dimly lit, and the sound of motors roaring masked all of Yin Hu's movements. He first silently arrived at Old Xu's room, and through the window, he saw Old Xu sleeping soundly with a drunk face.
"Not here... Let's see what you're up to."
Not finding Chen Chong's figure, Yin Hu smirked, like a elusive ghost, quietly sneaking towards the motor room.
The power station was roughly divided into two parts. Since Chen Chong wasn't in the boiler room, he must be hiding in the motor room. Yin Hu had a feeling that Chen Chong's active choice of working at the power station and his strange transformation were likely related to it.
As soon as he entered the motor room and concealed himself behind a rumbling motor, Yin Hu immediately noticed a shadow reflected on the wall in the corner of the passage on his right, exhibiting a strange posture.
"I've got you now!"
Yin Hu's eyes gleamed with excitement, and he silently approached.