19: The research institute is now operational!

The fires in the south of Suhang burned all through the night.

With heavy construction equipment entering the site, it was likely that even the roots of the grass would be dug up.

Pulling up the grass and removing the roots—eliminating the problem at its source!

This also served as a wake-up call.

The rain during the Beginning of Spring had brought far too many elements of unrest.

The most obvious sign...

...was that Great Xia had entered a state of war.

This was indeed a war.

A war to contend for the role of the protagonist of heaven and earth.

Of course, all of this felt somewhat distant from Ye Su.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed intently on a large pot.

Another large chunk of dog meat had been cut from the fridge and was currently bubbling away in the pot.

Last night's exertion had been too severe.

The medicinal power of that single Spirit Medicine had been almost entirely depleted.

Had it not been for the consumption during that rescue journey, it was possible that the remaining medicinal power could have raised Ye Su's Physique a bit more.

Now.

He could only try to make up for it with this pot of dog meat.

Soon, a strange fragrance wafted toward him.

Ye Su immediately began to feast greedily.

This meat, infused with the Spirit Medicine, was truly comforting; it left Ye Su's mouth glistening with oil and his whole body drenched in sweat.

Sensing Ye Su's physical state...

...the heart ape in his mind leapt out from the skill slot again, galloping about and demonstrating the Profound Truth of the Ape Fist.

"Little thing, wait until I'm full before I come to deal with you,"

Ye Su thought to himself.

This heart ape was extremely interesting.

On one hand, it brought insights into the Ape Fist Martial Arts.

But on the other hand, it brought restlessness, affecting Ye Su's ability to comprehend the Martial Arts True Intent.

However.

Ye Su was also attempting to suppress and capture it.

But currently, this idea was just an idea, with no way to implement it at all.

Fortunately.

The benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Ye Su couldn't be bothered to deal with it for the time being.

It wasn't as if something that jumped out of a Martial Arts slot could actually eat him, right?

The morning passed without incident.

Ye Su practiced the Ape Fist while digesting the mutated meat.

He hardly used fist techniques.

Instead, he integrated all the insights from the heart ape into his saber techniques.

It sounded very mystical.

In reality, it was just treating the saber as his own fist.

He simply practiced continuously.

Through a hundred variations of practice, the meaning reveals itself.

A clumsy method, but effective.

---Suhang, Temporary Research Institute.

Li Qing looked at the several palm-sized boxes in front of him, marveling at the wonder of it all.

As long as an Awakened Professional touched them...

...these boxes would open, revealing the items inside.

But as for what exactly the items were, no one knew.

They had the properties of a blind box.

Li Qing reached out; he had not Awakened, so he could not actually open them.

"Tell me, is there a possibility that we can break through the blind box nature of these crates?"

Li Qing asked Black Tiger, who was beside him.

Black Tiger scratched his head; how could he possibly know that?

"Hmm... I don't have a clue at all."

After a moment, Li Qing was also speechless.

You really couldn't tell what was inside from the outside.

Fine.

Let's set this research topic aside for now.

"Notify Zhang Hui to have Ye Su come over this afternoon," Li Qing said.

"You will be the one to open these boxes when the time comes."

"If there's any Spirit Medicine or anything, give it to Ye Su."

"His consumption yesterday was enormous."

Even though Li Qing was an ordinary person, he could see Ye Su's explosive display last night.

With his body being so scalding hot, how much energy must have been involved in that outburst?

Even with the global advent of Professionals...

...the conservation of energy shouldn't be completely broken.

"Alright, I understand,"

Black Tiger said.

As for Ye Su, Black Tiger was in absolute awe.

He had also changed classes and become a true Professional. Suhang had even allocated a blind box for him, from which he opened a Spirit Medicine that allowed his Physique to break through its limits.

However.

Despite also breaking through his limits, he still felt that Ye Su was completely different from himself.

In terms of pure combat power...

...it was hard to estimate how many of him it would take to actually stand against Ye Su.

He was too inhuman!

Li Qing put down the box in his hand.

He began to study a blade of grass. It was a golden blade of grass, and there seemed to be patterns upon it.

The lifeless golden blade of grass appeared just like an ordinary one.

It no longer possessed the characteristics of a saber.

This was essentially the corpse of a mutated plant—and currently, Li Qing was extremely interested in this corpse.

---Afternoon.

Zhang Hui came to find Ye Su.

"Let's go to the Suhang Research Institute together later. Director Li seems to have something to give you."

Ye Su's expression shifted.

Mhm, here it comes.

This is what you call payment.

He had taken a big loss yesterday, and Li Qing would surely have seen that.

There had to be some compensation.

Even an emperor doesn't send hungry soldiers to war!

"By the way, how are Hu Hai and the others?" Ye Su asked.

He was the one who rescued them; they shouldn't die, right?

Zhang Hui had a smile on his face.

"They've already had their surgeries. All the grass blades have been removed, and they are out of danger."

It was all thanks to Ye Su.

Otherwise, they would have been dead for sure.

"That's good then."

Ye Su nodded.

He then packed up, wrapped his long saber in cloth strips, and headed out with Zhang Hui.

This was the second day of the Beginning of Spring.

The weather was good today, though the trees outside had grown a bit taller again.

Many cracks in the concrete pavement had been patched up, making it look as though peace had returned.

But Ye Su knew.

The real competition had already begun.

It was just that...

...human cities had stabilized.

While the wilderness—well, it was hard to describe.

Watching the people busy clearing away the broken branches of the trees, Ye Su suddenly asked,

"What's the situation across the country? I see that Suhang has stabilized."

Zhang Hui was taken aback for a moment, then shared some insider information.

"Nationwide, the mutations on the day of the Beginning of Spring didn't care about geography, but starting from last night, the anomalies have changed."

"Cities, small towns, and rural villages are basically free of disasters."

"But in the wilderness, it's reached an almost incomprehensible level. Even desolate mountains have turned into primeval forests."

"All scenic areas nationwide have been closed, zoos are closed, and a document has been issued advising people not to go into the wilderness and to stay in densely populated areas."

What did this count as?

Division of stages?

Humans, animals, and plants each making a fuss on their own stage?

"If I remember correctly, today is the 28th of the lunar month, right? New Year's is in two days," Ye Su said.

"Yeah, it's almost New Year's."

"What are the official plans for the future?"

"No official word, but there are rumors of a mass migration if the anomalies continue."

The two fell silent.

The impact of the beginning of this global profession advent was too great.

If the anomalies were to persist...

...then what truly needed to be considered was the survival of civilization.

The higher-ups' attitude toward Professionals was often rooted in this very concern.

mushroom bombs were starting to have an expiration date. This 'expiration' didn't mean a quality issue, but a fundamental principle issue—after a certain point, nuclear fusion or fission would fail to occur.

Physics was about to cease to exist.

This was terrifying!

Soon.

The two arrived at the Suhang Temporary Research Institute.

However, when they arrived, Black Tiger was outside directing the hanging of a sign.

Suhang Research Institute!

The word 'Temporary' had been removed.

For certain reasons, Li Qing had abandoned his plan for a nationwide survey.

And he was preparing to settle down in Suhang.

For Ye Su, this was good news.