Chapter 049: Laying Low to Grow Strong

Earth.

6:00 a.m. on the twenty-third day after the start of the game.

Top floor of the Fitness Center in WF County, HB Province, Huaxia.

Li Gang awakened from sleep only when he felt the warm sunlight on his face. He looked around, but Lin Yan was nowhere to be seen.

He couldn’t remember when he had drifted off, but he was certain that when he fell asleep, Lin Yan was still beside him. Thinking back, her constant presence must have been to help him forget the trauma of his first killing, to ease him into sleep.

Li Gang rubbed his temples; he could feel that his body was fully rested—no sign of fatigue—but mentally, he hadn’t quite recovered. There was still a lingering weariness. Yet now, sleep eluded him.

By the time Li Gang found Lin Yan in the fitness center’s main hall, it was already half past six.

“Sorry, I slept through our six o’clock meeting,” Li Gang said, relief flooding him the moment he saw Lin Yan. He’d secretly feared that meeting her yesterday had been nothing but a vivid dream.

“You’re here. I saved you some breakfast. Eat up,” Lin Yan handed him several pieces of bread and a few cans of milk.

Li Gang thanked her and began eating without ceremony.

“How did you sleep?” Lin Yan asked.

“I slept well, no nightmares,” Li Gang replied, deliberately hiding that his mind hadn’t fully rested.

“You look tired—must be your mental value is too low.” Lin Yan examined him closely, suddenly stating her suspicion.

Li Gang was confused. He wanted to protest: his mental value far exceeded the average for men on Earth; the fatigue was simply from poor rest.

“As of six this morning, over a hundred people have been eliminated. I wonder what’s causing the acceleration,” Li Gang said, changing the subject as he ate.

He’d noticed his AI assistant had sent him two notifications, both offering him a choice between strengthening enhancement or comprehensive restorative treatment. Following yesterday’s agreement with Lin Yan, he’d chosen restorative treatment both times. Now, he had one strengthening enhancement and three restorative treatments left.

Lin Yan pondered for a moment, then guessed, “The faster elimination rate is likely tied to the earlier announcements and the supplement to Rule Six. Though it’s nighttime here, half the regions are in daylight, and hunting isn’t bound by day or night.”

As a former special forces soldier, Lin Yan was clearly well-versed in the art of hunting.

“Sister Lin, should we start hunting others, or keep developing in hiding?” Li Gang asked.

He understood that everyone was getting restless over the mysterious reward. Those who had already made their first kill were either hiding to study the Basic Guidance Technique fragments, or hunting others to obtain the complete version.

Li Gang guessed most people would choose to hunt. Even he was tempted by the complete Basic Guidance Technique—the fragment in his hand suddenly seemed far less appealing.

Still, he hoped Lin Yan would decide to lay low and develop for now.

“For the time being, we won’t hunt others. Your strength is lacking, and you’d only slow me down. You need proper training. Besides, we have two types of fragments; we should master them first. And by the way, ‘laying low and developing’ sounds crude—let’s call it ‘strategic concealment of our strength,’” Lin Yan declared, not caring for Li Gang’s choice of words.

“Alright. I’ll do whatever you say.” Li Gang replied, his spirits soaring. He was delighted at the prospect of spending more time with Lin Yan.

He finished his breakfast quickly.

Lin Yan drew her dagger and said, “I want to test your physical recovery abilities. I’ll need your cooperation.”

“What? Are you going to stab me?” Li Gang asked, puzzled. Seeing her draw the dagger, he realized her intention.

Lin Yan nodded, “Don’t worry. Just a small cut on your arm. Bear with it—I want to see what level your recovery is at with over three hundred stamina value. I’ll need you to cooperate with several tests: stamina, mental strength, power, speed. I’ve got a lot of ideas; by comparing your results with mine, I can verify some hypotheses.”

Li Gang nodded and extended his left arm.

A flash of the blade, and pain shot through his left arm. A seven or eight-centimeter cut, at least half a centimeter deep, appeared.

“That’s your idea of a ‘small cut’?” Li Gang thought, startled, but kept silent.

Lin Yan grabbed his arm and watched the wound intently. The blood didn’t flow fast; it stopped on its own after a short while, without any treatment.

“From the feel of the cut, your skin and muscle are much tougher than a normal person’s. No wonder your thigh took a bullet without fracturing the bone. The bleeding stopped sooner than I expected, and it’s already starting to scab. Your recovery is several times faster than ordinary people,” Lin Yan observed, analyzing as she examined the wound.

The moment Lin Yan seized his arm, Li Gang felt as if he’d been electrocuted, frozen in place. Aside from his mother and the awkward contact during middle school group exercises, this was his first real physical interaction with a woman—especially one he admired.

It was a wonderful feeling, and his heart raced. The pain in his left arm was forgotten.

Lin Yan watched for a while, then released his arm and wrapped the wound with gauze she’d prepared. She fell into deep thought, not noticing Li Gang’s flushed face.

“What’s wrong? Why is your face so red?” Lin Yan asked, noticing his unusual color.

“Nothing. Have you drawn any conclusions?” Li Gang, recalling the sensation, quickly changed the subject.

“No definite conclusions yet. I need to test other aspects—running speed, jumping ability, and more. Comparing these with my own results will help verify my theories and shape our training plan and path to strength. This is crucial for our growth; I need your full cooperation. Understood?”

“Understood. I’ll do whatever you say,” Li Gang agreed readily.

Lin Yan nodded in satisfaction.

For the next several hours, Li Gang followed her instructions, undergoing various tests—sprints, long jumps, high jumps, and stranger tasks.

One test required him to walk in a straight line with his eyes closed, repeated nearly ten times before Lin Yan was satisfied. Each time, he deviated slightly, but the angle was small.

Another test was similar: stepping in place with eyes closed for a minute. He did this twice, and both times remained exactly where he started.

“Comprehensive restorative treatment really is miraculous. Even habitual sensory biases are fading,” Lin Yan remarked after these peculiar tests.

“Is walking straight or stepping in place with eyes closed difficult?” Li Gang asked, unconcerned, thinking anyone could do it.

Lin Yan replied, “The simplest things are often the hardest to do precisely. Even tiny deviations can lead to big mistakes. Clearly, comprehensive restorative treatment has perfected your sense of balance.”

Afterwards, Li Gang underwent many more tests—some normal, some strange—until nearly noon.

After the final test, he asked, “Is that it?”

“Almost. Let’s make lunch. While we eat, I’ll share some of my theories and discoveries,” Lin Yan replied.

With the county’s supplies, their lunch was lavish. Meat and vegetables, balanced nutrition. The dishes looked delicious and appetizing—almost all prepared by Lin Yan, with Li Gang only assisting on the side.

Lin Yan explained that her cooking skills had been honed from childhood.