In the cold, damp basement.
Lu Chen leaned against the mold-spotted wall, his chest heaving violently.
The violent heat flow within him was gradually subsiding, melting into his limbs and bones.
This sensation of fullness gave him an illusion—that he could not only tear steel apart with his bare hands but could also punch this entire building into dust.
"What level am I at now?"
As a science student, Lu Chen disliked vague feelings.
He chanted silently in his mind: "System, expand detailed panel."
Buzz——
The ice-blue light screen floated on his retina again.
[Player: Lu Chen] [Race: Human (Tier 1, Stage 5 · Gray Fog Adapter)] [Status: Healthy (Energy Overflow)]
[Base Attributes] (Note: Adult male standard value is 5)
Strength: 14.2 (Evaluation: Humanoid Hydraulic Press. Your current grip strength can crush a skull like a cookie.)
Agility: 12.8 (Evaluation: 100 meters in 2.9 seconds. Running in a straight line, not even a Ferrari beats your start.)
Constitution: 15.5 (Evaluation: Humanoid Tank. An ordinary fruit knife leaves only white marks on your skin.)
Spirit: 8.5 (Serious imbalance. Your neural response lags behind your body; high latency exists.)
[Talents/Skills]
Inherent Talent - Bio-Furnace: Digestion rate 99.9%. Eating makes you stronger.Derivative Passive - Overclocked Heart: Pumping pressure is 5 times that of a normal person. During intense exercise, weak individuals within two meters may feel suffocated due to infrasound pressure.
[Source Energy Reserve: 5/100] [Experience Points: 1 / 100] [System Evaluation: A small fry with slight potential. Suggest finding a substantial meal first.]
...
Lu Chen stared at the pitiful "1 Experience Point," his brows furrowed tightly.
"System, isn't this wrong?"
"A Slime is a monster, right? An ordinary person could be insta-killed if they didn't dodge. How is it only worth 1 point?"
[System Notification: Triggered "Life Hierarchy Suppression" mechanism.] [Verdict: Smurfing/Noob Stomping. Killing creatures below one's own tier only yields a mandatory 1 point base experience.]
"Fine..."
Lu Chen was speechless. His gaze then fell on the glaring "Spirit 8.5".
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "So that's why..."
No wonder when he grabbed the Slime just now, he clearly saw it, but his hand felt half a beat slow. His brain couldn't keep up with his body.
"By the way, my stats are too—"
Gurgle.
Lu Chen was just about to make a grand statement when his heart skipped a beat.
"Crap! The box!"
He was so focused on the system he almost forgot the main business!
He hurriedly looked down at the metal box by his feet, half-corroded by the Slime. That was his "entry ticket" for the 20,000-yuan scholarship. If it was ruined, the money would fly away!
Fortunately.
The Slime had started gnawing from the corner. Although the files inside were a bit damp and sticky with mucus, the core parts were still intact.
"Phew..."
Lu Chen let out a long sigh of relief. He was just about to lift the heavy archive box.
"Hmm?"
Again, that alluring "roast meat aroma."
But it wasn't as intense as before; it was coming from the corner nearby.
Lu Chen froze, then jerked his phone flashlight in that direction.
The beam swayed, revealing the darkness.
They were crowded together, squirming—a wall of black sludge pushing forward.
If the Slime just now smelled like a sizzling, top-tier Tomahawk steak fresh off the grill, so fragrant it made one lose reason...
Then the smell emitted by this group was, at best... leftover pork with garlic shoots that hadn't been reheated.
Still fragrant, still tempting, but not enough to crash his brain into total madness.
"Make it quick."
Lu Chen sighed. He gently placed the archive box on the ground and cracked his neck.
Crack.
Then, his figure, poised to charge, suddenly froze.
Lu Chen's face changed drastically, as if remembering something terrifying.
He looked down at the concrete floor by his feet, pitted and corroded.
Wait... these things have strong acid!
That metal box got chewed up just now. If my hoodie gets even a drop on it...
Lu Chen gritted his teeth and made a decision that defied common sense but perfectly followed the logic of poverty.
This hoodie was his battle robe, won for free after a whole night of bargaining on the Pinxixi app. If it got ruined, where would he find another one so durable and dirt-resistant?
Skin heals on its own. I have [Thick Skin] anyway. That's free.
Clothes cost money to replace.
Faced with this simple yet brutal math problem, Lu Chen didn't hesitate to sacrifice his dignity.
"No one's coming down here anyway."
In a flurry of motion, he stripped himself naked.
He carefully folded his clothes and, along with his worn-out sneakers, stuffed them into a safe corner.
Done. Lu Chen stood in the cold basement, bare-chested, muscles cast like copper and iron, flexing his joints.
Those clearly defined muscles bulged slightly in the darkness, brimming with explosive power.
"Phew..."
Without the restriction of fabric, Lu Chen felt lighter.
He turned around to face the encroaching wall of black sludge, a savage grin curling his lips.
"Now, no worries."
The next second.
Lu Chen's right foot stomped violently.
BOOM!
The originally hard concrete floor exploded instantly, creating a shallow pit half a meter in diameter, gravel flying everywhere.
Using this terrifying recoil, Lu Chen launched himself like an out-of-control heavy dump truck—or rather, a Humanoid Semi—tearing through the air with wind pressure, crashing straight into the Slime swarm!
No fancy techniques. Didn't even need to throw a punch.
Ek = 1/2mv^2
When Lu Chen, a "high-quality rigid body," collided with a pile of "low-density non-Newtonian fluids" at extremely high initial velocity, the result was singular—
Perfectly Inelastic Collision.
Lu Chen turned himself into a heavy artillery shell.
The moment that body full of explosive power slammed into the soft mass, the Slimes didn't even have time to deform and disperse the force. The massive kinetic energy triggered a terrifying cavitation effect directly inside their bodies.
SPLAT—!!!
Like rotten tomatoes stomped on by a giant.
The black liquid didn't just splash; it exploded into a mist, instantly coating the walls and ceiling of the entire corridor.
Those Slimes trying to corrode Lu Chen with acid didn't even have a chance to react before being smashed into a black fog by unreasonable kinetic energy!
The acid splattered on Lu Chen's skin with the [Thick Skin] trait, merely making a slight sizzling sound and leaving fleeting red marks before being evaporated by his overheated body temperature.
Just two seconds.
Charge over.
Lu Chen stood at the end of the corridor, standing over a floor of black residue.
[Combat Ended] [Targets Eliminate: Dark Cavern · Corrosive Slime x 13]