39: Chapter 39 Aoki Project

Want to lift this maddening time limit and reach a 24-hour continuous Comprehension Ability buff? Li Wen had no idea how to achieve that.

How strong of a Physical Body foundation would that require? How terrifying of a Mental Energy? And how many precious life energy potions as support? This path was likely much longer and harder than he imagined.

After a short rest to recover some energy, Li Wen stood up again and returned to the Blade Technique cultivation area of the martial arts room.

He wanted to test another key indicator—now that his mental attribute had improved, exactly how much had the limit for a single activation of Absolute Focus been extended?

Long blade swinging, rainbow light flowing. Li Wen deliberately slowed his cultivation pace, focusing more on sensing the rate of Mental Energy depletion.

Time passed quietly amidst focus and physical exhaustion. The winter sun's light moved slowly across the floor through the high windows.

When Li Wen felt the familiar stinging sensation in his brain, his thoughts becoming sluggish, and even vague protective signs of dizziness, he decisively stopped and glanced at the electronic clock on the wall.

“One hour and forty minutes...” he whispered to himself, quickly calculating. “About ten minutes more than the hour and a half limit at lv3!”

This result refreshed his spirits once again.

Though the increase wasn't huge, it was significant—keep in mind, this Scholar lv5 upgrade brought a 50% increase in Comprehension Ability! A massive jump!

Usually, higher skill effects require an exponentially growing price.

Yet, under the strong boost of his mental attribute, his limit duration hadn't shortened, but rather extended!

The extra 20% boost in Comprehension Ability didn't bring extra physical burden; instead, the precious duration increased by ten minutes!

“The mental attribute from the Scholar upgrade is simply the best partner for the Absolute Focus skill, it's indispensable!” Li Wen showed genuine joy.

If he distributed this one hour and forty minutes reasonably throughout the day and allowed for sufficient recovery time, the effective daily duration should stabilize at two hours!

This expected “endurance” was enough to support more planned and deeper cultivation.

The shadows lengthened as it approached 6 PM.

Li Wen looked at the final gains on his panel:

[Technique: Blade Technique - Top Tier (Entry 29→38/100)]

In one afternoon, from 29 to 38, a full 9-point increase! This not only verified the high efficiency of the new level of Absolute Focus but also signaled the huge hidden dividend brought by the mental attribute.

“Good harvest!” Satisfied, Li Wen packed his bag and left the steaming Top-tier Technique area.

The lights in the second-floor cafeteria of Kindling Hall turned on. Compared to noon, the number of people hadn't significantly increased.

Li Wen quickly grabbed a high-energy set meal, found a corner seat, and began tackling the food. After cultivating all afternoon, his body had long been sending strong signals of hunger.

He focused on eating until the large TV screen hanging on the cafeteria wall caught his occasional glance.

“...Welcome to Qingshi Real-time News. It is now 6:00 PM. This afternoon, our County Leader led a team to inspect the site of the Qingmu Project. Regarding the massive collapse of the Qingmu Project... According to preliminary statistics, this collapse has caused over two hundred injuries, fifty-three deaths, and thirty-two missing persons. Rescue work is still ongoing...”

“Qingmu Project?” Li Wen's chewing stopped abruptly, and the food in his mouth instantly lost its flavor.

The name was too familiar. He looked up, his gaze locked on the TV screen.

The screen was showing aerial footage of the scene: the familiar structural frame, but nearly half of the area looked like it had been gnawed by a giant beast, collapsing into a huge, bottomless black pit with dust and smoke still rising around it.

Rescue vehicles were as tiny as ants, the cordon line was stretched very long, and the scene was shocking.

“It really is the Qingmu Project!” Li Wen's heart tightened. Before falling ill, his father Li Hong had been a long-time employee of the Qingmu Project, working there for many years.

He used to go there to find his father when he was a child, and later, when taking the bus to school, he always had to pass by that massive construction site.

But now, the site on the TV screen was unrecognizable. That bottomless pit exuded an unspeakable omen of misfortune.

“No wonder so many people were killed or injured...” Li Wen murmured.

After the Spiritual Energy Recovery, ordinary people's Physiques had also been subtly enhanced; general natural disasters were indeed hard-pressed to cause such heavy casualties.

A collapse of this magnitude was almost a total catastrophe for those caught in it.

A thought flashed through his mind, carrying a hint of absurdity and bitterness: “Looking at it this way, Dad actually... escaped a disaster because he was resting at home due to his illness?”

For a moment, a sense of profound irony enveloped him.

His father's serious illness was the heavy boulder on the whole family's heart, the start of their financial shackles, and the most direct motivation for Li Wen to strive to become stronger.

But now, this potentially fatal disaster had, in a sense, become his father's “protective talisman”? The fickleness and black humor of fate left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry, stirring up an indescribable complex emotion.

“Sigh...” In the end, all his thoughts turned into a heavy sigh. He lowered his head and continued with the food on his plate, but the meal now tasted bitter and astringent.

Returning home with a heavy heart, he pushed open the door and saw his father, Li Hong, also staring solemnly at his phone screen.

The phone screen was lit, staying on a chat app interface. Rows of avatars and dialog boxes showed many unread messages. Most of the avatars were photos of middle-aged men in work clothes and hard hats—faces Li Wen vaguely remembered, mostly Li Hong's coworkers.

“Sigh...” Li Hong looked up, just as Li Wen walked in. He sighed before speaking, his face a mix of shock, sorrow, and an unspeakable sense of luck.

“A blessing in disguise...” His voice was low and raspy, filled with deep exhaustion.

“Little Wang... Old Zhang... and Old Liu... are all... on the death list...”

His former foreman had posted a partial list of confirmed victims in the group. Every familiar name was like a cold stone hitting his heart.

Joy? Though his broken body was suffering, he was alive after all, able to sit and watch his son come home.

But thinking of those coworkers who might have been laughing and carrying cement and steel frames together this morning, only to be separated by life and death in an instant, how could the immense grief and the sorrow for one's own kind allow for any “joy”?

Worry? He knew well that the root of his illness was in his lungs, and the heavy financial pressure was like a giant rock overhead. The future was uncertain, and seeing his son's busy figure, he was consumed with worry.

Li Wen quietly walked over and sat on the stool next to his father. He didn't speak, nor did he know what to say at this moment.

He had already silently experienced the complex expression on his father's face while eating alone in the cafeteria.

The trickery of fate was presented to this silent father and son in such a cruel way at this moment.

The room was silent, save for the cold north wind outside, occasionally scraping against the window frame and bringing a low wail.

Heavy pressure, eerie luck, helpless worry, and confusion about the future weighed heavily in the air, making the small living room feel exceptionally cramped.