156: Multiple awakening methods

After returning home, Lu Chuan looked at his sweat-soaked clothes, covered in white salt stains, and couldn't help but frown.

While working, he hadn't felt anything, but now that he was idle, he suddenly felt sticky all over, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

He immediately grabbed clean clothes and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Soon after, the sound of trickling water could be heard from the bathroom.

A little while later, a tuneless song emerged.

He Jingrui, who was pulling mud balls one by one from the brick kiln, suddenly paused.

He hesitated, looking at the brightly lit house, listening to the pig-slaughtering-like singing that gave him goosebumps. After thinking for a moment, he still took a basket full of mud balls out of the yard and went to the pond.

In the center of the rippling pond, a round, bright moon was reflected.

It was another full moon night.

The terrifying singing was no longer audible, and the surroundings were filled with the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs.

A gentle evening breeze blew, rustling his clothes and stirring his thoughts.

He wondered how his captain and the others were doing?

He Jingrui stared blankly at the moon in the water.

They should still be on a mission somewhere, right?

A fish surfaced, then quickly dived, disturbing the perfectly round silver disk.

His thoughts were interrupted, and He Jingrui shook his head, coming back to his senses.

"I hope the captain and the others are safe!"

He murmured softly, then began to peel the mud balls one by one.

The fragrant mud shell peeled away, revealing the fresh lotus leaves beneath, as if they had just been picked.

Gently opening the lotus leaves that were wrapped into a ball, a captivating aroma rose with the mist.

It smells so good.

Although he had eaten it more than once, He Jingrui was still captivated by the alluring aroma of the beggar's chicken.

Soon after, faint chewing and tearing sounds could be heard from his spot.

Lu Chuan, emerging from the bathroom, looked through the courtyard gate and saw a hazy figure sitting by the pond, enveloped by the night, and couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

"He Jingrui never seems to get full, which is probably why his Gourmet Cells awakening rate reached 14% so quickly."

[Correction, it's not 14%, it just increased by 1% a moment ago.]

The system's voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

Lu Chuan was stunned.

"How could it be so fast? Only two days have passed, and it's already 15%?"

[Persistent training, continuous supply of gourmet food, coupled with extraordinary talent, and the awakening method using heavenly materials and earthly treasures, such progress is understandable.]

Lu Chuan noticed the system's wording, couldn't help but stroke his chin, then looked at He Jingrui, who was eating heartily by the pond, and continued to ask:

"Listening to you, system, it sounds like there are multiple ways to awaken Gourmet Cellss?"

At that time, when he passed through the crack and entered the Another World, it was the system that reminded him to pick the pure white lotus pods.

Back then, Lu Chuan didn't know what Gourmet Cellss were, and the system had explained it to him.

He didn't expect the system to reveal such significant news now.

To be honest, Lu Chuan was becoming increasingly curious about the system's origin.

But he knew that even if he asked, the system wouldn't tell him.

Just as the system kept urging him to complete the stall mission and continuously earn appetite coins, everything the system did was very purposeful.

It was like a predetermined program with emotions, guiding him towards a certain ultimate goal.

[Indeed, there are various ways to awaken Gourmet Cellss. For example, the host and his companion used heavenly materials and earthly treasures for awakening, which is also the most top-tier and special awakening method.]

[Compared to other awakening methods, using heavenly materials and earthly treasures for awakening, although extremely dangerous, can lead to extremely high growth potential upon success and also grant unique talents that are difficult to obtain through ordinary awakening methods.]

[Including but not limited to forging a perfect foundation and greatly improving comprehension.]

[Of course, classified from the highest first-grade to the lowest ninth-grade, the more advanced the heavenly material and earthly treasure, the more unique talents can be acquired.]

[The White Water Lotus Seed consumed by the host is a seventh-grade item, so the unique talents acquired are limited.]

[In the future, the host may wish to search for and consume higher-grade heavenly materials and earthly treasures to gradually master more unique talents.]

Lu Chuan didn't expect the system to actually provide an explanation, and immediately asked curiously:

"What about the other awakening methods? What are they?"

[The more mainstream method is to use gene agents refined from the spinal fluid of a certain exotic beast to help individuals break genetic shackles and activate Gourmet Cellss.]

[Among the non-mainstream methods that have formed certain schools, the more famous ones include poison refining, insect devouring, and beast taming.]

The system seemed unwilling to elaborate on this matter and only gave a brief overview.

But even so, the things the system revealed still made Lu Chuan's eyes light up, filled with longing.

At the same time, he also had a vague guess about the system's origin.

He then asked some other questions.

At first, the system would answer, but under Lu Chuan's continuous questions, it eventually seemed to get annoyed and simply disappeared.

"Stingy, if you don't want to say it, then don't."

Lu Chuan pouted and stopped pressing.

Anyway, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to pry open the system's mouth and get the information he wanted.

After drying his hair with a towel, he called out to He Jingrui by the pond, then ran upstairs and went back to his room to sleep... That night.

Lu Chuan woke up from a nightmare, drenched in sweat.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at the bedroom door with lingering fear.

"How strange, why did I dream that same dream again?"

In the dream, he heard a knocking sound at the door.

However, the knocking sound was very strange; unlike the clear sound of fingers tapping, it was more like the muffled thud of a webbed hand slapping.

When Lu Chuan was about to go open the door, he found that the knocking had stopped, and then water with a strong fishy smell began to seep from under the door.

The next moment, the door burst open, and a terrifying, hideous face lunged directly at him.

The nightmare ended there.

Lu Chuan sat up in bed, his expression extremely serious.

He had no more sleepiness now.

If having such a nightmare once could be a coincidence.

But this was already the second time, and the hideous fish face from the dream was still vivid in his mind.

To call it a coincidence again would be an insult to his intelligence.

He looked at the still intact bedroom door, thought for a moment, then got up and walked to the door, feeling along the crack.

The next moment, a strange, unreadable expression appeared on his face.

His hand lifted from the door crack, faintly bringing with it a trail of slime.

He brought it to his nose and sniffed; the fishy smell was strong and pungent.

What is this?!

Lu Chuan pursed his lips, then slowly backed away until he returned to his bed.

He made no sound throughout, only slowly reached for his phone by the bed.

The next moment, he was about to open his contacts, find He Jingrui's number, and dial it.

At this moment, Lu Chuan didn't care what was outside the door; he just wanted to call the strongest combat power in this house to come and kill the thing that had caused him two nightmares!

Just as his finger was about to press the dial button, the system's voice suddenly rang out.

[Host, wait.]

Lu Chuan's movements froze.

"System, do you know something?"

[I know a little. According to system analysis, it should be that your companion has some problems, not an exotic beast attack.]

Hearing this, Lu Chuan's eyes narrowed.

"Are you saying..."

The hideous fish face appeared in his mind, and for some reason, he also thought of the fish monster he had killed in the Nameless Lake, and he unexpectedly found that the two were extremely similar in certain details.

Although the hideous fish face was something he had dreamed, he didn't believe that the two were unrelated.

However, according to the system's statement, He Jingrui was somehow involved in this?

"Could it be the fish monster's curse, causing He Jingrui, who killed it, to mutate?"

Hearing Lu Chuan say this, the system commented:

[All reasoning is wrong, but the result is all correct.]

Lu Chuan ignored the system's teasing, his brows now deeply furrowed.

Two consecutive nightmares, both seeing that hideous fish face, had brought a great shock to his young mind.

But compared to the news from the system, that was nothing.

According to the system, He Jingrui was indeed mutating!

The thought that He Jingrui might turn into something like that made Lu Chuan's scalp tingle, and he couldn't help but say:

"System, do you have any solution?"

However, the system disappeared again.

It was as if it had just spoken to assert its presence.

...

"No, why are you like this, system?"

Lu Chuan was so angry that he kept complaining in his mind.

Seeing that the system was unreliable, he could only figure out a solution himself.

Lu Chuan, with a worried expression, looked out the window at the bright moonlight.