112: Chapter 112 The Ticket to Thunderous Ruins! Physical Body Withstands High Pressure, Guards Petrified on the Spot!

The next day, early morning.

The sky was not yet fully bright, carrying a hint of greyish moisture.

Carrying the zhan ye heavy sword wrapped tightly in black cloth on his back, Lin Qi stepped onto the maglev train headed for the western suburbs alone.

Outside the window, the city's silhouette receded rapidly through the morning mist.

The further west he went, the gloomier the sky became.

Finally, when the train reached the terminal, the sky outside was completely shrouded in thick, lead-gray clouds.

Within the clouds, purple electric snakes darted from time to time, tearing through the sky and bringing a fleeting, pale light along with distant, muffled thunder.

Thunder Ruins.

Arrived.

This was the site of a giant power plant from the old era, which had turned into a never-dissipating thunderstorm forbidden zone under the impact of source matter tides.

A thick smell of ozone filled the air, mixed with the earthy scent after rain; every breath caused a slight stinging sensation in one's nostrils.

This was one of the S-Rank forbidden zones recognized by Tianhai City.

High concentrations of lightning elemental energy had spawned countless incorporeal lightning elemental creatures. They were immune to most physical attacks and moved as fast as lightning, making them a nightmare for all physical-class professionals.

But at the same time, it was a paradise for lightning mages and high-agility assassins.

High risk also meant high reward.

At the entrance of the ruins, a checkpoint guarded by the Federal Military was established, while a spontaneous gathering place had formed outside the checkpoint.

At this moment, a large number of mercenary groups and makeshift parties had already gathered here.

"Thunderstorm core area exploration team! Need a powerful healer, all equipment goes to you!"

"'Lightning Marten' speed-run team! Missing a mage who knows 'Lightning Net', Materials split equally!"

"Any big shots willing to carry a newbie? I'll pay!"

Shouts and calls rose and fell one after another.

Without exception, these people were all wearing specialized lightning-resistant combat suits. The thick insulating material made them look somewhat bloated, and they were covered in various shimmering resistance gear.

Amidst this group of "professionals," one figure seemed completely out of place.

Lin Qi wore a faded black casual jacket and ordinary sneakers, with a large, long object wrapped in black cloth on his back.

That thing looked like an unsharpened piece of black iron, without any energy fluctuations, let alone any enchantment attributes.

Dressed like this, he looked like a college student on an outing who had accidentally wandered onto the front lines of a battlefield.

Soon, someone noticed him.

"Hey, look at that kid. He dares to come to the Thunder Ruins dressed like that?" A burly mercenary gestured toward Lin Qi with his chin and sneered at his companion.

His companion glanced over and was also amused.

"Probably some greenhorn from a school who doesn't know the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth."

"With that physique, I bet he'll turn to ash as soon as a lightning bolt hits."

Amidst the discussions, a sharp-eyed player suddenly recognized Lin Qi.

"Wait, that person... seems to be Lin Qi?"

"He's the champion of this year's Freshman Competition!"

As soon as the name was mentioned, the gazes of everyone around instantly focused on him.

"He's Lin Qi? That Blank Slate champion?"

"Holy crap, it really is him! It's been going crazy on the forums, saying he ruined his brain by drinking industrial waste. Looking at him now, it seems true!"

"A Lv.1 Blank Slate, even if he won the championship, coming to a place like the Thunder Ruins isn't that just pure suicide?"

"Tsk tsk, the fall of a Genius is always so dramatic."

Mockery, pity, schadenfreude.

All kinds of gazes converged on Lin Qi, but he acted as if he hadn't heard a thing.

His attention was completely captivated by the violent and pure aura of lightning deep within the ruins.

That power made his bones tremble with excitement.

Ignoring all the surrounding chatter, Lin Qi walked straight toward the metal checkpoint at the entrance.

"Halt!"

Two fully armed guards extended their energy halberds, crossing them to block his path.

One of the guards sized him up, frowning deeply.

"Show your Rank certification, or wear resistance gear that meets the standards."

The guard's voice was cold and businesslike.

"Non-combatants are prohibited from entering the interior of the Thunder Ruins. This is for your own safety."

This was a federal regulation, meant to prevent the countless reckless newcomers from coming here to die every year.

Lin Qi didn't waste words.

He didn't even bother to take out his student ID.

Under everyone's puzzled gazes, he reached out his right hand and lightly tapped a metal pillar next to the checkpoint with his index finger.

It was a lightning resistance testing pillar.

It was specifically used to test the resistance of adventurers' equipment and bodies to lightning; only after reaching a safety threshold would entry be permitted.

Seeing Lin Qi's action, the people around were stunned.

"What is he doing?"

"Touching the testing pillar with his bare hands? Is he crazy!"

"That thing has an instantaneous voltage of three thousand volts. Without a protective suit, it can turn a person into a roasted pig in an instant!"

The guard's expression also changed, and he was about to speak out to stop him.

It was already too late.

Lin Qi's fingertip had already touched the cold metal pillar.

Zzzzt—!

A blinding blue arc of electricity suddenly shot out from the top of the metal pillar, instantly connecting to his fingertip and surging through his entire body!

Violent currents coursed wildly over the surface of his body, making crackling sounds, and even his hair stood on end.

The surrounding mercenaries subconsciously took a step back, their faces showing expressions of being unable to bear the sight.

It's over.

This kid is completely finished.

However.

The expected scene of him being charred to a crisp and falling to the ground did not occur.

Lin Qi still stood in place.

His expression was as usual, and he even let out a comfortable yawn due to the stimulation of the electricity.

That appearance didn't look like he was enduring a high-voltage electric shock, but rather like he was enjoying some kind of high-end electrotherapy massage.

The violent current, enough to instantly paralyze an ordinary second-advancement professional, vanished like a clay ox entering the sea the moment it surged into his body.

Inside his Dantian, the rapidly spinning True Qi vortex, like a greedy Taotie, instantly swallowed, crushed, and absorbed this external energy.

Converting it into nourishment for himself.

"*Burp...*"

Lin Qi even let out a full burp.

The guard was dumbfounded.

All the surrounding mercenaries who were waiting to see a joke were completely dumbfounded.

They rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were having hallucinations.

The guard mechanically turned his head to look at the instrument screen next to the testing pillar.

On the screen, the red progress bar representing the resistance value was pulled all the way to the right, flashing a blinding alarm.

Below it, a line of large characters was displayed.

[Lightning Resistance: Extremely High (Exceeds Detection Limit)]

[Warning! Warning! Unknown high-energy biological entity detected!]

The entire checkpoint was as silent as death.

The guard swallowed hard, looking at Lin Qi as if he were looking at a monster in human skin.

He silently withdrew his energy halberd and made a "please" gesture.

Checkpoint cleared.

Lin Qi withdrew his finger, tucked it back into his pocket, and under hundreds of shocked, horrified, and disbelieving gazes, he took a leisurely stroll and strode into the ruins where the thunderstorm raged.

Not until his back disappeared into the greyish mist did the crowd suddenly erupt into a frenzy.

"Did... did I see that right? He... he caught high-voltage electricity with his hand?"

"Damn! Is that instrument broken?"

"A monster! This is absolutely a fucking monster!"

In the crowd, a mercenary who had just bet on Lin Qi "dying suddenly within an hour" in a gambling thread turned pale and slumped to the ground.

"It's over... my wife-savings..."

At the same time.

On the Longya Academy forum.

Zhang Wei's post was instantly refreshed.

"Latest news! Brother Qi has entered the field! Resisted three thousand volts of high-voltage electricity with his bare hands, completely unharmed!"

"Odds urgently adjusted to one to three! Ten-minute countdown to close bets. Hurry up if you want in! Bets are final, no regrets!"

Below the post was a high-definition snapshot.

In the photo, Lin Qi was pressing one hand against the testing pillar, surrounded by electric light, but his expression was one of laziness and boredom.

The entire forum fell silent once again.

And at this moment, the protagonist of the story, Lin Qi, had already gone deep into the outskirts of the ruins.

Just as he stepped onto this scorched land.

Boom!

A purple lightning bolt as thick as an arm, carrying a destructive aura, fell from the sky and accurately struck less than half a meter from his feet!

The ground shook violently, and rubble flew in all directions.

A strong smell of scorched earth, mixed with the scent of ozone, wafted toward him.