Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 199Book 3, : First Night

“It’s not just the brain. The brain is just the most likely to go through vitalization, and it’s also the part that creates most unforeseen circumstances once the vitalization rate goes into the danger zone. Your organs and limbs are also potential targets. Any part that has mutated tissue can go through vitalization,” Tian Yu answered. “Have you seen your vitalization rate?”

Yuan Qiuyuan cast a glance at his number and felt rather miffed. “Damn it. Why is it two?”

When was he infected?

“Are you toying with me?”

He turned to Qin Qingque. “Officer Qin, what’s your number?”

“Five,” Qin Qingque answered honestly.

Tian Yu said, “A normal vitalization rate is between one and ten. As long as it doesn’t go over thirty, you’ll be fine.

“Having a vitalization rate below ten is normal. Sometimes, it’ll be higher. At other times, lower. It’ll inevitably fluctuate when you enter the merged space, but you don’t have to worry too much about it.

“If you have a stable mind and great self-restraint, you can keep it at a low number.”

Chen Chuan tapped his Realm Pass and said, “You two, let’s share our vitalization rates so that we can keep an eye on each other.”

They connected and set up a communication platform. That way, they could check each other’s vitalization rate at any moment.

Yuan Qiuyuan eagerly checked Chen Chuan’s number, only to find that it was a clear zero. Shocked, he gasped, “So low?”

He understood the significance of what Tian Yu had said. When applied to a Third Limit martial artist, a steady mind and great self-restraint meant that they had plenty of blood essence and a powerful mental foundation.

This captain is pretty good, he murmured in his heart.

Qin Qingque saw their vitalization rates and started feeling the pressure. To her, it was only natural for Chen Chuan to have such a low number. After all, he was their unit captain.

But despite looking like someone who took nothing seriously, Yuan Qiuyuan had a number that was much lower than hers. That meant that he was stronger, and she had to work harder.

Tian Yu checked the time. “It’s late now. Since you’ve just arrived at the fort, you need to go through some procedures, so I won’t keep you any longer. You can go through the rest of the lesson tomorrow. Set the time yourselves. It can be in the morning or at the same time today.”

“Ms. Tian, you mentioned just now that someone will teach us a breathing technique to suppress vitalization. When will that lesson be?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Once you’re back in your room, you can apply on behalf of the entire unit. Your instructor will set up a time, Captain Chen,” Tian Yu answered.

“Thanks.” Chen Chuan stood up and turned to his team members. “Have you two eaten? If you haven’t, shall we have a meal together?”

“We haven’t eaten, sir,” Qin Qingque replied.

“You’re the captain. Your word is law,” Yuan Qiuyuan said.

Chen Chuan nodded. “Let’s go, then.”

He bade farewell to Tian Yu and left the screening hall.

The moment Chen Chuan stepped into the fort, he logged into its platform, but due to the limited resources, he didn’t get as many functions here as outside. He could only search for text documents and simple things.

As the unit captain, he could also see his team members’ information.

Yuan Qiuyuan was an outstanding martial artist from a peripheral city who came from a martial arts family.

He had grown up in a martial arts school his family ran. He had rejected a recommendation to study in his city’s Martial Valor University and just relied on hard work and his family’s support to become a Third Limit martial artist.

Once he reached that stage, he was transferred to Central City and given citizenship.

Since he could become a Third Limit martial artist in a peripheral city, his family is seriously powerful, Chen Chuan thought.

Qin Qingque came from a family of soldiers. She was trained to be a combatant in a military school. Since she was discovered to have extraordinary talent when she was just a child, she received strict training from the military and could use all sorts of firearms and weapons, along with driving various types of vehicles. Her parents were likely to have important positions in the military too.

Chen Chuan wondered whether this was intentional, but he noticed that his team members came from peripheral cities and had no ties with the forces of power in Central City.

Then, he remembered that Liang Guanghai had mentioned his clean background when he handed the special mission to him. By the looks of it, his team members were picked with the same requirement.

When the three of them arrived at the cafeteria, it was already past dinner time, but they had an on-site restaurant solely for the people who were to be sent out on missions. They could either order set meals or get their food from the buffet in the restaurant itself. There was a huge variety of dishes, and the portions were generous.

Yuan Qiuyuan grabbed a plate of braised pork knuckles for himself and bit down on one before commenting, “Not bad. It’s no different from the pork knuckles I got in Central City.”

Qin Qingque waited for Chen Chuan to pick first before choosing her meal. She then said, “The food here is cultivated in the mobile garage. Some are delivered from the rear, though.”

“I heard about that. They said that while you can plant crops here, there’s something wrong with them, so the ingredients are all delivered from the rear,” Yuan Qiuyuan added.

Chen Chuan knew that this was a benefit only for the stationed soldiers and upper-class people. The average soldiers only ate nutritional paste, unless it was their day off.

But he didn’t care about whether the food was good or not. As a martial artist, he could eat the nutritional paste that was as bland as sand without batting an eyelid.

Once they went to their table, he poured three cups of tea before standing up and lifting his cup. “We’re a unit from today on, so I hope that we can work well together. After all, we’ll be together through thick and thin and will be trusting each other with our backs.”

The other two stood up as well.

Yuan Qiuyuan lifted his cup and said, “Since you’re the captain, I’ll listen to you. But I’m a straightforward person, and I say whatever comes to my mind. I might also sound harsh. I hope you won’t mind it, Captain Chen.”

“I’ll always follow orders and do what a good team member should do,” Qin Qingque said seriously and lifted her cup with two hands.

They toasted each other, took a sip of their tea, and sat down to eat.

Once they finished dinner, Chen Chuan brought them to complete the registration procedure and officially took them both into his unit. They received a brand new uniform and weapons.

Since Chen Chuan was a Class One Law Enforcer, he also got a beautifully crafted sword, but it wasn’t just to show off his status. It could also be used in fights.

From there on out, whenever he got promoted, he would be given a new sword. The level of refinement would increase with each new rank. Right now, the sword he got was the lowest in terms of quality and rank. So, it could only be a memento. He intended to put it into a box after he got back.

The fort had already given them a place to stay. Since they were all Third Limit martial artists, each of them had a room, which had electricity and hot water 24/7.

As the captain, Chen Chuan also had a phone and radio set. The higher-ups even gave him a sentry, even though his rank wasn’t high enough for one.

Chen Chuan took a shower and put away all the things he had brought with him. Then, he started reading up about the fort. When he was done and saw that he still had time, he took out a tube of the special medicine.

The liquid inside the tube seemed to be even brighter here, as if it contained poignant vitality.

He observed it for a moment before removing the cork and drinking the whole thing.

After a moment, he heard a strange sound. It was very clear, unlike before. While he was in Central City, the sounds he heard seemed to come from a distant place and were all jumbled up. This one, though, seemed to come from an existence he could almost sense.

Even though he was inside the fort, he could see a huge black shadow moving about on the walls and the ceiling. The floor started fluctuating. He even heard rustling sounds behind him, as if something was getting closer.

Chen Chuan took a look at his vitalization rate, and he found that it was climbing up. Soon, it was above ten.

After watching it calmly for a moment, he had his second self absorb all the unseen damage. The strange sounds and movements vanished, and everything returned to normal. His vitalization rate also dropped back to zero.

Then, he entered a quiet, uninterrupted meditative state.

***

Yuan Qiuyuan stood within the public phone booth in the fort talking to someone. Under the spotlight, the snowy ground was as white as clouds on a bright, sunny day. He cast a glance at the patrol guards walking by before saying to the person on the other side of the phone, “Impression? It’s pretty good, honestly. By the way, who exactly is my captain?

“The higher-ups assigned him, and you don’t know anything about him? Fine. I won’t ask anything else about him, then.

“I know. I won’t take any special medicine here. Who on earth would do it?

“Look, I’ll stay put like a good boy. Happy?

“Enough already. Stop nagging at me. You said that you don’t have resources, and you know that you need a lot of them to make long-distance calls. Can’t you feel your conscience crying?

“Hey! I’m not saying you’re being long-winded. Fine. I know. I’m hanging up now.”

After he ended the call, he put the phone receiver back in place and exhaled once he was out of the phone booth.

Sister dear, since when have you become as annoying as Mom? he grumbled in his heart.

Even though it was late, when he saw the pure white snow on the ground and the snow falling from the sky, Yuan Qiuyuan didn’t feel sleepy. He had just arrived at this brand new place and was feeling excited.

After some thinking, he went to his room, grabbed a custom-made retractable staff, and went to the training room to spend his energy.

***

Qin Qingque changed into her martial arts uniform in her room. She placed a finger on the floor and used it to lift herself up with her knees crossed. Her other hand was positioned toward the sky.

She looked to be still, but her mutated tissue was moving as she breathed. Soon, sweat rolled down her forehead, but it did not fall on the floor. Instead, it evaporated due to her increased body temperature.

As she continued generating refined force, her vitalization rate slowly dropped until it stopped at one.

While the three of them trained, their first night at the merged space passed.