Chapter 10 – Tests

In the eerie silence, several people exchanged glances.

It was Chu Chenli who spoke first, “So what do we do about this door?”

Huang Shuyin glanced at the door and then at his ‘weak and helpless’ face. “Lean it against the wall for now, I’ll call someone to fix it later.”

“Okay.” Chu Chenli nodded. He effortlessly lifted the door panel, and moved it to the side. He adjusted it slightly. Satisfied, he leaned back.

He took extra care in handling the gate this time. He really didn’t mean to rip the gate off…

Huang Shuyin and Xiao Bai looked at each other blankly. Well. Guess this wasn’t a dream after all.
Huang Shuyin pinched her brow with a slightly weary expression.

“Go in the arena. We’ll discuss this later.”

After leading the two inside, she couldn’t help but try to lift the door herself.

It wouldn’t be difficult for her to move it if she used all her strength, but even if two more people joined her, it would be impossible to handle it as effortlessly as Chu Chenli, who lifted it as if it was cardboard.

Xiao Bai also reached out to give it a try. His attempts were even worse than Huang Shuyin’s. Even as his face turned red from exertion, the door stubbornly refused to budge.

When he noticed the stares of the other two, he dropped his hand quickly, slinking embarrassedly after them.

He couldn’t get a word out after that. . When he looked up at Chu Chenli again, there was a hint of awe and admiration in his eyes.

If that door had slammed down on top of mutants, they would have been pulverised instantly, even in this time period.

Currently, Chu Chenli had no way of directly killing the mutants, because he wasn’t awakened–but that particular issue could be solved easily.

There were options available– specially crafted ammunition and weapons made of certain special materials that could kill mutants, even if the wielder wasn’t awakened.

But things were different ten years ago. Back then, you didn’t even need specially crafted weapons; brute force alone could crush them.

Ten years ago…

Between Chu Chenli and Ye Lanzhou, who protected whom? The same question arose in both spectators’ minds.

Gazing at the pair, they abruptly understood a fraction of Ye Lanzhou’s devotion to Chu Chenli’s safety.

In this era, almost everyone went into battle, but the role that ordinary people could play was extremely limited, more often ending up as a mere hindrance.

Bases took this into consideration when taking in ordinary people, making an effort to designate a safe area for them. Their roles were minimal, with the healthier individuals being assigned to logistical positions at most.

However, as a result, all bases faced crises brought on by shortages of high-end combat power.

If Chu Chenli could awaken and improve his skills, he might be able to save as many people as Ye Lanzhou did, or even more. Huang Shuyin cast aside her indifference and began giving Chu Chenli a brief overview of the training ground.

If things went smoothly, he would soon become very acquainted with the training ground.

The interior of the training ground was spacious. It was originally a plot of land occupied by a university, and spanned two large sports fields, a basketball court, a tennis court, and a gymnasium. The entrance led to the larger of the two sports fields, which was usually open to the base’s occupants for training and drills. The exterior appearance hadn’t changed much, the main gate secured with a mere lock.

At this early hour, there was no one around. To the right, a fence and a wall made of concrete had been erected to separate the areas. One of the largest sections appeared to be a shooting range.

The outdoor training area on the right required a pass to enter. Huang Shuyin led Chu Chenli toward the indoor training ground on the left.

“The indoor training ground has fewer people. There will be no spectators,” Huang Shuyin explained.

Chu Chenli’s name was well known, but he attracted attention for all the wrong reasons. The news of his awakening had spread throughout the base. Most people kept their disapproval quiet, venting their displeasure behind his back. But there was always the possibility of some extreme individuals attempting to cause trouble.

A majority of the base’s population were Ye Lanzhou’s admirers, after all.

As Huang Shuyin swiped the access card to open the training hall door, she asked Chu Chenli, “Were you born with this strength?”

Chu Chenli nodded. Although his memories before meeting Ye Lanzhou were somewhat blurry, he didn’t recall facing difficulties due to lack of strength.

Like how ordinary people didn’t use the same amount of effort to tear paper and break a wooden board, controlling innate strength was not a difficult task. Perhaps his coma had stolen his restraint along with his strength.

Or maybe his strength had indeed increased again? Chu Chenli couldn’t tell.

When he pushed open the door to the training hall, it was with extreme caution, trying to avoid another unfortunate and accidental door removal.

Huang Shuyin, who had been watching him out of the corner of her eye, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She shuddered at the thought of having to bear the cost of repairing two doors.

The layout inside the training hall was similar to the outside. Upon entering, there was a large empty space, with a storage room on one side containing rudimentary weapons for practice. Many of the weapons were already rusty. They weren’t used very often.

After rooting around inside, Huang Shuyin glanced at Chu Chenli’s face, and paused. Finally, she selected two wooden sticks, each about arm’s length. It was enough for a small test.

“Five minutes. If you can hit any part of my body, you win,” Huang Shuyin said as she tossed one of the wooden sticks to Chu Chenli.

Xiao Bai subconsciously shuffled to the opposite wall, plastering himself against it. He gave all his attention to the spar, eyes glued to the two fighters.

Relying purely on strength against Huang Shuyin in a duel would only lead to failure. Huang Shuyin’s advantage lay not in her strength, but in her experience and skills. The contrast between her and her father was stark, a researcher and a hardened warrior with a keen perception, leaving a mountain of corpses in her wake.

Seeing Chu Chenli take the wooden stick, Xiao Bai nervously gulped. Chu Chenli gripped the wooden stick firmly. He shifted around, trying to get comfortable, the light weight of the stick throwing him off balance. Across from him, Huang Shuyin, had already assumed an attacking stance.

Chu Chenli lowered his head to look at the wooden stick in his hand when a wave of memories assaulted him.

–

This scene was so familiar, like he had lived through it all before—

A young girl with short hair sat on the ground, refusing to get up, staring at the longsword in his hands, while complaints spilled from her lips.

“Hey! Don’t you know that your plaything can kill people? I don’t want to have to claw my way back from the afterlife again because of you! And you’ve just used this knife on a nose worm and a zombie. What if it’s infected…”

Chu Chenli gave her a weary smileand turned the blade over. “I’ll use the back of the sword, then.”

Before the girl could say anything, their audience erupted into boisterous laughter. At least use the scabbard. Getting hit by the back of the sword hurts too. If you really hurt her, be careful, she might sneak into your room at night to bite you.”

“What’s Ah Li got to be afraid of? The leader’s room is right next door. Are you sure Xiao He’s directional sense won’t lead her into the wrong room?”

“Yes, and make sure the leader doesn’t find out, or Xiao He may get in trouble.”

“Why would she insist on finding Ah Li to practise with? Even the leader doesn’t dare provoke him casually.”

“Xiao He has a talent for seeking death in that way.”

“What do you mean the leader doesn’t dare? He’s just protecting his little brother!”

“What about Xiao He? Is she willingly offering herself to be beaten by little brother Ah Li?”

“If it’s not working out, just don’t force it. Stick to your own expertise. When the time comes, hide behind little brother Ah Li, and we’ll protect you too.”

“Were our recent missions too stressful for you? Is this a joke to help us relax?”

“You’ve touched my heart! We will remember your spirit of sacrifice!”

–

The jeers of the crowd quickly ignited Xiao He’s fury. With a yell of “Technical personnel have their dignity too!”, she snatched up the backpack at her side and hurled it at the group.

Giving them no time to recover from the shock, she pounced on them, and they began wrestling.

The atmosphere was lighthearted, clearly a ploy to escape from practice.

Chu Chenli looked up at the ceiling, sighed, and put down the sword. He went out and picked up two tree branches, saying, “This should be fine, right?”

The group paused, then burst into rambunctious laughter.

Xiao He’s face cycled through a range of emotions, finally settling on a look of dismay. . “Ah Li, you’ve been corrupted by them!”

Chu Chenli felt the whispers of a smile curl at his lips.

Back then, there were still so many people.

He spared the noisy bunch another glance, only to be pulled out of the memory.

The training hall was empty, and devoid of people. The familiar faces of the past were gone.
The only person in sight was Xiao Bai, whose face became increasingly terrified—

The smile on Chu Chenli’s face froze.

He shrugged off his dazed state just in time to pick up on the whistle of wind and the swift presence of an attacking blade. His counterattack was almost an instinctive reaction.

But in the next second, as he raised his hand, he snapped back to reality — the person in front of him was not an enemy.

In less than half a second, the wooden stick grazed Huang Shuyin’s neck and flew out of his hand, smashing into a shelf against the wall, snapping in half with a crack.

The wooden stick, which had been stored for many years, had gradually softened and become fragile. Huang Shuyin couldn’t care less about the stick. Her earlier irritation at Chu Chenli spacing out completely forgotten, all she felt now was shock.

The overwhelming killing intent had flashed for just an instant, disappearing in less than a second.

Huang Shuyin was frozen in place, unable to move. The crushing pressure she felt was real, not a product of her imagination.

Chu Chenli had avoided her attack with only a simple, precise tilt of his head.

Huang Shuyin’s heartbeat thundered in her ears, sweat glistening on her forehead. An aborted angry scream of “What are you daydreaming about?!” was stuck in her throat.

Easily dodging her attack, even while daydreaming. She hadn’t been going easy on him, and yet…

That was unthinkable, even for Ye Lanzhou. That skill was impossible to learn through simple training.

On the other side, Xiao Bai peeled open his eyes after avoiding the flying debris. His gaze landed on the dent in the metal shelf. He stopped swallowing, his mouth dry.

The eerie silence was broken by Chu Chenli himself. He made a soft “uh” sound and slowly lowered himself into a squat. His face turned pale.

Xiao Bai’s heart lurched, and he stumbled for a moment on unstable legs. Regaining his balance, he immediately ran over.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Xiao Bai anxiously examined Chu Chenli from top to bottom, not daring to touch him. “Are you hurt? Should I take you to the hospital?”

Meanwhile, the one who almost got into trouble, Huang Shuyin, “…”

Really, who was the one who had almost gotten injured?!

She had to admit that it looked like he was the one injured—his face was a pasty white.

I barely managed to scrape his clothes…

Huang Shuyin, still trying to even her breaths, calm her slightly disordered breath, bent down to check on Chu Chenli. After all, he had slept for a full ten years, and she had forgotten to consider the possibility of lingering effects on his body when he mentioned feeling dizzy earlier. What if it caused some irreversible harm?

She grew flustered, her mind racing, tendrils of regret starting to gnaw at her stomach.
Then she heard Chu Chenli breathe out lightly.

Somewhat pitifully, he squeaked out, “I’ve got a cramp.”

Huang Shuyin: “…”