Chapter 11 Amazing Changes

The efficacy of this enhancement potion was to strengthen the body, which undoubtedly referred to strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, and coordination. But how was she supposed to test this?

Bai Xiao wandered around her small one-bedroom apartment before finally stopping in front of her vanity. Calling it a vanity was a bit of a stretch; it was actually a custom-made combination of a vanity and a desk that Bai Xiao had ordered specifically.

It was two meters long and eighty centimeters wide, built with very solid materials and weighing dozens of kilograms. When she moved in, it had taken two movers to carry it together.

Bai Xiao pulled the desk out slightly to leave enough space against the wall for her hands, then placed them on either side of the center.

Taking a deep breath, she gave it a hard lift—and it went up! Previously, it wouldn't have budged even if she had used every ounce of strength she possessed.

Bai Xiao tried taking a couple of steps; it was effortless. She even felt like she could handle something heavier. After putting it back, she looked at her hands, unable to imagine how much her strength would increase after drinking all five bottles.

Unfortunately, the room was too small to test her speed. Otherwise, she really wanted to head out right now with a stopwatch and run a hundred-meter sprint to see how much faster she was compared to her university physical fitness test results.

After a while, she shook her head. Forget it; running around like a lunatic in the middle of the night was a bad idea. She needed to stay calm; there would be plenty of opportunities to test herself later.

After all that exertion, her body felt even hotter—so hot that her hands were sweating. Steam even began to rise from her, and a foul, sour smell permeated the air.

Startled, Bai Xiao rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror. It wasn't just her hands; steam was rising from her face as well.

She hurriedly stripped off her clothes; her entire body was steaming! The sour smell grew stronger, and Bai Xiao quickly opened the windows and turned on the exhaust fan.

It was the effect of the potion. She didn't know what kind of chemical reaction was happening inside her, but it was causing massive changes to her body.

She waited for about ten minutes before the sweating and steaming finally stopped. By then, Bai Xiao was nearly overwhelmed by her own stench.

Noticing that the changes had stopped, she quickly turned on the shower and gave herself a thorough scrubbing from head to toe.

After her shower, Bai Xiao stood before the mirror and examined herself once more.

Her wet hair was dark and beautiful, with a silk-like luster. Her already fair skin was now translucent and flawless, with a texture so fine it looked like it had a natural glaze. Even the skin on her body had become fairer and smoother.

She blinked her large, dark eyes and pouted at her reflection. The person in the mirror mimicked her. Looking at her features alone, she truly had the kind of look that appeared innocent and pure.

After a moment, a thought occurred to her, and Bai Xiao sighed softly. Now, this face would make people think she was even weaker.

Wrapping herself in a bath towel, she dried her hair, turned off the bathroom light, returned to the bedroom to change into new pajamas, and sat back down on the bed.

Checking her phone, she saw it was already past two in the morning. Without realizing it, she had been busy for over four hours since coming out.

Perhaps because the events were so bizarre, her mind couldn't settle down for a long time, and she didn't feel sleepy at all!

Time to keep at it!

She opened the game panel again and accessed the [backpack]. Of the two slots that had been full, one was now empty.

Bai Xiao clicked directly on the [Tactical Skills Course]. Once opened, the interface displayed the words: 'Analyzing and Generating...'

After a while, the generation was complete. The icon transformed into a new book shape with the title "Basic Comprehensive Close Combat" written on it.

It was truly a personalized customization, providing exactly what she was thinking of and needed.

When Bai Xiao clicked the new icon, an invisible white light instantly pierced between her eyebrows. It felt as if a blur of information had been stuffed into her mind—a truly miraculous sensation.

How to describe it? It was like sitting on a pile of wealth but not having the key.

Bai Xiao could feel the contents of the book stored in her mind. She could review the information at will and knew the knowledge within, but her body couldn't perform the techniques yet.

It seemed this course wasn't like the potion, which took effect as soon as it entered the body. It required long-term practice to transform the knowledge into her own abilities.

Although the contents were in her mind, the book in her backpack hadn't disappeared. When Bai Xiao clicked it again, the book turned into images like a slideshow for her to review.

The entire course consisted of only three major chapters: Sports Knowledge, Self-Defense, and Basic Fighting Techniques.

The first chapter was pure theory, covering encyclopedic knowledge like how to handle sports injuries, the vulnerable parts of the human body, and daily training methods. Bai Xiao could recall this from her mind at any time. The second and third chapters were the parts that required long-term practice.

Bai Xiao changed into athletic clothes, returned to the living room, found a relatively large space, and eagerly began to learn.

The core of the second chapter on close combat was escaping and breaking free from restraints. Bai Xiao opened the first section. As soon as she clicked it, her surroundings were enveloped in white light, as if she had entered a vast, white room. She stood in the center, and a dummy appeared opposite her.

Real-world simulation teaching! This course was so worth it! Bai Xiao once again marveled at the wonders of this game system.

...

She studied for two hours straight until she no longer had the strength to stand. Only then did she stop.

It was 5 AM by the time she returned to the bedroom. She had already showered twice tonight and didn't really want to do it again, but since she was covered in sweat, she took a quick rinse.

Lying in bed, she felt her body was exhausted, but her mind was still excited.

In the dead of night, she slowly calmed her mind and began to process this series of events, her emotions complex.

She felt that the killing game was both evil and terrifying, treating people as less than human, yet she was deeply drawn to the power the game provided.

She suddenly felt like the chosen protagonist in a movie, about to embark on a long and adventurous journey.

Sigh—

Bai Xiao let out a long sigh and pulled the quilt over her head. She stopped thinking about it; since she was here, she would make the best of it!

She forced herself to clear her mind, closed her eyes, and tried to get some rest.

She still had to go to work tomorrow!

Wait, work?

Bai Xiao threw the quilt off her face. Was there any point in her going to work in her current situation?

She didn't know when the next life-and-death game would arrive, but should she just stay home and train while waiting?

Most importantly, she realized something: she didn't know any of the people who had entered the game before. Had only the eight of them participated in the game?

She remembered when she first entered, the game announcement said 'Welcome to Hunting Ground No. 86574.' Did that mean there were many hunting grounds?

Then the people participating in the game far exceeded just them; there should be many others.

There were many people at her company, so she still needed to go to work to see how everyone was doing and if they had the same mark on their wrists.

Having made up her mind, Bai Xiao closed her eyes again. She could still rest for over two hours.

...

Early in the morning, her phone alarm went off right on time. The moment the ringtone sounded, Bai Xiao opened her eyes and woke up almost instantly, like a robot being activated.

She wasn't sure if it was the effect of the enhancement potion, but despite being physically and mentally exhausted and only sleeping for over two hours, most of her fatigue had vanished.

She had even felt the slight vibration of the phone alarm just now; the potion had simultaneously enhanced her hearing and perception!