Chapter 238: Bug? Status effects stacking again!

Time passed minute by minute.

Inside the core area guarded by the [Explosion-Proof Trench], Su Ze ate the food Yao Qingya had traded to him. He then lay down on the office desk and closed his eyes, appearing as if he were truly resting.

However, his mind was racing at high speed.

An incredibly bold, even insane idea to exploit a bug was gradually taking shape in his mind.

Faced with an enemy like Shi Yetang, who was hidden in the shadows with unknown strength, he was indeed feeling constrained.

But if his bold hypothesis held true, it would be worth taking a gamble!

...

At dusk, Su Ze sat up from the bed and took out food from his backpack again to replenish his Stamina.

Outside the door, Gai Qian's illusory figure floated over, seemingly having waited there for a long time.

Seeing Su Ze wake up, she hurriedly began her report.

"Mr. Su Ze, I thought back carefully and found something very suspicious."

Su Ze ate his food while looking up to signal her to continue.

"When I fought that Sun Lin who turned into a zombie earlier, logically speaking, physical attacks shouldn't be able to hurt me in my incorporeal state."

Gai Qian's tone carried a hint of lingering fear. "But her attacks were able to cause me damage. I suspect... she had some kind of specialized method applied to her hands to counter Supernatural Entities."

Su Ze didn't stop moving, calmly swallowing the food in his mouth.

"This proves that she, or rather the person behind her, very likely knew of my existence long ago."

"Normal," Su Ze replied with only one word.

He had already guessed as much.

With Shi Yetang's strength, even if she only lurked in the World Financial Center for a single day, she could certainly scout everything out clearly if she wanted to.

Knowing that Gai Qian was a soul entity and preparing some counter-measures, or even possessing such means naturally, was perfectly reasonable.

Seeing Su Ze's calm and unruffled demeanor, Gai Qian became anxious instead.

"Mr. Su Ze, what I mean is... since the opponent is fully aware of my existence and abilities, they must have prepared even more powerful trump cards to target you!"

"I... I might be completely unable to help you in terms of combat."

She explained urgently.

"However, I'm still very useful for gathering intelligence and finding supplies!"

Su Ze stopped chewing and looked at her intense desire to survive, suddenly finding it amusing.

She was terrified that he would use her as the primary cannon fodder against Shi Yetang.

"Fine, I see through your little scheme."

He wiped his mouth. "When I saw you protecting Ye Qingqing and the others earlier, looking like you were ready to die with them, I thought you weren't afraid of death."

A hint of embarrassment seemed to surface on Gai Qian's illusory face.

Her pure black eyes, which lacked any whites, flickered.

"If one can live... of course no one wants to die, even though I've already died once."

Su Ze waved his hand. "Enough, enough. You're more valuable alive than dead. Rest assured."

"By the way, if possible, try to make yourself look a bit more normal. I'm not afraid, but looking at you like this is quite uncomfortable."

"...Yes."

Gai Qian responded, her illusory figure fluctuating for a moment before her eyes gradually became normal.

Aside from her face still being pale, she looked no different from a normal person.

Although there was still a faint sense of the uncanny, combined with her beautiful features, it had a different kind of aesthetic appeal.

Su Ze suddenly spoke.

"How strong do you think that Shi Yetang roughly is?"

Gai Qian froze for a moment, her expression immediately becoming serious.

She thought for a long time before speaking with some uncertainty: "Maybe... several hundred basic combat power? Any higher... should be unlikely."

"After all, the zombie race itself is a relatively weak race within the Monster Camp. They are strong in numbers and fearlessness, but the upper limit of individual strength isn't high. Of course, I've only heard rumors; I've never actually encountered any high-level existences of their race."

Su Ze nodded, lost in thought.

Several hundred, huh...

Seeing his silence, Gai Qian finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked cautiously, "Mr. Su Ze, what... exactly are your plans?"

Su Ze glanced at her, his tone flat.

"Don't ask too much."

"Go back and rest for now."

Gai Qian, having been rebuffed, didn't dare to say more. She could only say a respectful word before turning and floating away.

Time continued to flow.

The night grew deeper.

11:59 PM.

Only a few dozen seconds remained until midnight.

Su Ze, still alone in the room, suddenly snapped his eyes open.

Now!

He didn't hesitate to chant in his mind.

"Use Bond—[Burst]!"

Boom!

An indescribable, terrifying power instantly erupted from every cell in his body!

His entire body's attributes doubled at this moment!

But this was far from over!

Su Ze took a deep breath, a sharp light exploding in his eyes.

"Use Replicated Bond—[Learning · Burst]!"

[Ding! Detected that the host is already in the "Burst" state. Please choose the effect for Replicated · Burst Bond!]

[Option 1: Double the power again based on current strength!]

[Option 2: Extend the duration of the "Burst" state by one hour!]

It's here!

A look of wild joy appeared on Su Ze's face!

He actually had a choice; his gamble was right!!

"Option one! Double the power again!"

In an instant, a torrent of power several times stronger than before exploded within his body!

The power within him was more abundant than ever, and a powerful feeling of being able to control everything arose spontaneously.

Right at that moment.

The midnight bell tolled.

[Ding! Midnight has arrived!]

[The Second Night, Parade of Supernatural Entities, has officially begun!]

A series of system prompts rang out in his mind one after another.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining today's free attribute points +2!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining today's intelligence *3!]

[Ding! Congratulations to your Dormitory building for obtaining today's refreshed supplies...]

Su Ze paid no attention to these.

His consciousness was entirely focused on one thing!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he issued the command again.

"Use today's [Burst] Bond!"

The next second, the system's prompt rang out just as he had hoped!

[Ding! Detected that the host is still in the Burst state activated yesterday (Remaining time: 59 minutes 48 seconds)...]

[Would you like to continue using today's [Burst] Bond?]

[(Available Choice: Extend the Burst state by one hour.)]

[(Available Choice: Continue to stack the Burst effect on top of current strength!)]

It worked!

It really worked!!!

Su Ze looked at the "Continue to stack" option and almost laughed out loud...