9: Chapter 9: Shop Opens: Basic Internal Skills and Body Tempering Pills

As Chen Wu's retinas were submerged in a waterfall of golden light, Zhao Qiming's voice message from yesterday looped on his phone: "The waters of the System Mall are deeper than the black market body tempering pills, don't touch it carelessly—"

Before the words finished, the sound of shattering glass struck like a thunderclap.

He looked up just in time to see three dark shadows sliding into the rental room along fire rescue ropes—the leader wore tactical gloves, the stun baton in his hand flashing with blue-purple electric arcs, while the other two reached for folding knives at their waists, the blades coated in dark green poison.

"Yo, Streamer Chen is researching 'Internal Skill'?" The leader sneered. "Our boss said if we bring you back, dead or alive, he'll give us five hundred thousand."

Chen Wu's finger hovered over the purchase button for "Basic Internal Skill · Scientific Special Edition," then suddenly slid down—buy the "body tempering pill · Quantum Neutralized Type" first.

Just as the System prompt popped up, he had already swallowed the pill from the porcelain bottle.

Pain, overwhelming pain.

Subcutaneous fat felt like wax being roasted over a fire, seeping out through his pores. Chen Wu looked down and saw his T-shirt becoming transparent from the oil soak; beneath the fabric clinging to his back, muscle fibers were like earthworms coming to life, coiling into balls and then stretching out, each contraction bringing a tearing pain.

The pain of bone growth was even more brutal—as if someone were striking his bone marrow with a small hammer blow by blow; with every strike, his brain trembled. The window glass was the first to give out, exploding into fine powder with a "buzz." The security bars of the entire building were shaking, and an old lady downstairs holding a vegetable basket looked up and cursed: "Which kid is tearing down the house?"

The live stream's bullet chat went crazy.

[Japanese Netizen]: Donating 1 million Yen, please stop the stream! (Pain Sharing +7%)

[Medical Doctor]: The creatine kinase index has already exceeded the instrument's upper limit!

[US Army Lab]: 40Hz Gamma waves! This is a characteristic of a near-death experience!

Chen Wu's teeth were nearly crushed from clenching. He stared at the "Pain Blocker (24 Hours)" in the System interface, his fingers trembling—2,000 Popularity Points, buy!

The moment the blocker activated, the pain was like a flood held back by a sluice gate, but the body's mutation continued. He heard his bones making "click-clack" sounds as every joint elongated, and his collarbones protruded like two hidden knives.

"Still not enough!" he roared, clicking the purchase button for "Basic Internal Skill · Scientific Special Edition."

The phone suddenly blasted Zhao Qiming's recording, the voice distorted like crumpled paper: "The scientific version of Internal Skill will overwrite the prefrontal cortex, you—"

The latter half of the sentence was cut off.

Chen Wu's consciousness was dragged into a void of darkness, followed immediately by the explosion of a neural maze scene—

The hippocampus was twisted into a Taiji Eight Trigrams formation, every trigram line flowing with pale golden light; a holographic projection of the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" floated over the visual cortex, and red lines from the "Qi and Blood Circulation Map" crawled into his pupils along the optic nerves; the cerebellum's balance area was even more exaggerated, the fluid dynamics formula "∇⋅(ρv)+∂ρ/∂t=0" coiling around the folds like a snake, slowly overlapping with the "Meridian Map" from the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" to become a Taiji diagram bearing mathematical symbols.

"Is this... welding science and martial arts together?" Chen Wu's consciousness floated in the maze, hearing his own voice as if it were being pulled out of water.

When he opened his eyes, the tip of his nose was right against the phone screen—the bullet chat in the stream had become a solid wall of text, but his attention was entirely on his own pupils:

In the mirror, his pupils had split into Taiji Yin and Yang fish; the black fish-eye revolved with a white pupil, and the white fish-eye revolved with a black pupil. With every rotation, the torrential rain outside the window gave a "buzzing" tremor.

He raised his hand, and a crisp "crackling" sound came from his knuckles.

The torrential rain outside suddenly stopped.

Raindrops the size of beans hung in mid-air, each one reflecting the Taiji patterns in his pupils like countless frozen water swords. The black-clad leader was just about to pounce when Chen Wu lightly hooked his finger—

"Swish—"

The foremost water sword shot through the man's stun baton, the electric arc extinguishing instantly; a second water sword sliced his tactical glove, cutting a bloody gash; the third was even more brutal, nailing directly into the floor by his feet, the splashing concrete debris grazing his pant leg and leaving a scorched black mark.

"You... you're not human..." The leader backed away, knocking over Chen Wu's instant noodle cup, the broth spilling onto the carpet and emitting steam.

Chen Wu stood up, the sound from his bones like a guzheng's strings snapping: "Get out."

The three dark shadows scrambled out the window; the fire rescue rope swayed violently, and one of them even missed his footing, falling into the bushes below with a miserable scream.

As the Popularity Points in the stream skyrocketed, Chen Wu was staring at the "Blood Scripture" fragment in the System interface—the red "???" looked like blood dripped onto the screen.

The phone suddenly vibrated, popping up a notification: The underground black market's "Black Lotus Auction" is starting the bidding for the 37th batch of body tempering pill imitations today, starting price 3 million.

The accompanying image was a test tube filled with surging fluorescent liquid, faintly revealing a projection of Chen Wu's DNA double helix.

The auction was in an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs.

The host in a bronze mask struck the gavel, and the fluorescent liquid in the test tube wobbled, reflecting a cold light on his mask: "This batch of imitations uses gene fragments from the 'Chen Wu Sample,' and the medicinal effect is three times that of black market goods—"

"I bid 3.5 million."

A Silicon Valley giant in the first row raised a paddle, the silver tip of a neurotoxic needle peeking out from his cuff; a Southeast Asian warlord in the second row touched the Black Lotus Mark on the side of his neck and blew out a puff of smoke: "4 million, plus ten crates of munitions."; the girl in the peaked cap in the third row didn't raise a paddle, her tablet glowing—"Blood Scripture" analysis progress 97%, and in the screen's reflection, a miniature earpiece was stuck behind her ear.

Just as the host was about to drop the gavel, the test tube suddenly "popped" and exploded.

Fluorescent green mist surged out, and the tycoon in the first row suddenly screamed—his skin cracked like sun-scorched paper, revealing dark green crocodile scales beneath, each one glinting coldly; the warlord's spine arched, his suit jacket splitting at the back as a barbed scorpion tail lashed out, impaling a nearby bodyguard, blood dripping from the barb onto the carpet; the buyer on the far edge was even worse, his face slowly melting into a frog's mouth, his tongue darting out to wrap around a nearby maid.

"Mutations!" someone screamed, running for the door, but the door was already locked tight, a key with a Black Lotus Mark inserted into the lock.

The girl in the peaked cap stood up as the "Blood Scripture" analysis progress on her tablet jumped to 100%—she looked up just in time to see the auction hall's dome torn open, the Antarctic cold wind pouring in, tilting her cap.

At that moment, all screens suddenly switched to Chen Wu's live stream.

He sat on the sofa in his rental room, the Yin and Yang fish in his pupils spinning faster, his voice like metal grinding: "Dear viewers, we are now broadcasting a live fraud-busting session."

Before his voice faded, the water swords hanging outside the window suddenly flew up with a "swish," piercing through the warehouse roof and shooting into the auction scene—

The first water sword nailed the warlord's scorpion tail, the barbs instantly softening as the warlord collapsed screaming; the second sliced through the tycoon's crocodile scales, dark green blood flowing out as he rolled on the floor clutching his arm; the third was even more precise, shooting directly into the frog-faced buyer's mouth, pinning his tongue to the wall, the tongue still twitching and wrapping around half a carpet.

"The problem with the imitations lies in the use of unneutralized quantum tunneling agents." Chen Wu's finger swiped on the phone screen, bringing up a mass spectrum. "Look, the peak here is 37% higher than the genuine body tempering pill, which will activate recessive genes in the body—such as crocodile scales, scorpion tails, or..." He paused, looking at the girl in the peaked cap, "the fragments of the 'Blood Scripture.'"

The girl's tablet suddenly went black.

She looked up, seeing Chen Wu's eyes—in the Yin and Yang fish pupils, the earpiece behind her ear and the still-open "Blood Scripture" analysis interface on her tablet were reflected.

By the time the chaos at the auction ended, Chen Wu's Popularity Points had soared to 9,876,543.

The System suddenly popped up a crimson warning:

[Civilization Leap Threshold Detected]

[Current Civilization Rank: 0.7 (Has not broken through 'Carbon-Based Lifeform Limits')]

[Leap Conditions: 1. Popularity Points ≥ 10,000,000; 2. Obtain 'Core Martial Dao Legacy'; 3. Sin Value ≥ 500]

Chen Wu stared at the "Sin Value" column—497/500, 3 points short.

The phone suddenly rang; it was an unknown number.

Picking it up, Zhao Qiming's voice came through—no, it was the electronic sound from Zhao Qiming's mechanical prosthetic eye: "Chen Wu, come to Antarctica."

In the ancient ruins beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, Chen Wu saw Zhao Qiming's mechanical remains—his upper body was encased in ice crystals, a broken sword half-embedded in his chest, the patterns on the hilt perfectly matching Chen Wu's DNA double helix.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"This is..." Chen Wu reached out and touched the ice crystal, a bone-chilling cold emanating from his fingertips.

"It is the key to the 'System'."

A voice came from behind him.

Chen Wu turned around and saw someone who looked exactly like him—his body was composed of nano-metal, every inch shimmering with a silver-gray light, and his eyes were two swirling black holes, reflecting the star map of the entire Universe.

"Are you... the future me?"

"To be precise, I am the 'carrier of the System'." The future Chen Wu walked over and tapped Chen Wu's forehead with his finger. "When you consumed the body tempering pill, you activated the quantum tunneling effect of your mitochondria; when you learned the basic Internal Skill, you reorganized the neural circuits of your prefrontal cortex—you are no longer 'human', but a 'bridge' connecting carbon-based civilization and quantum civilization."

Chen Wu's pupils contracted: "Then the fragment of the 'Blood Scripture'..."

"It is the 'screening mechanism' of the System." The future Chen Wu pointed to the mural on the ruins' wall—in the painting, a three-eyed creature was meditating facing a Taiji diagram. "The ancient civilization triggered a civilizational leap because they learned the 'Blood Scripture'... but the price was—"

He suddenly grabbed Chen Wu's hand and pointed to the ice sheet outside the ruins:

The crowd in New York's Times Square froze, with asphalt-like substances flowing from their eye sockets; the volcano on a Pacific island nation went dormant, and the magma congealed into the runes of the 'Blood Sea Formation'; the girl in the baseball cap at the auction took off her headphones, revealing a Black Lotus Mark behind her ear, and the tablet in her hand displayed: 'Blood Scripture' fragment acquired.

"The Sin Value is still 3 points short." The future Chen Wu said, "Kill her, or..."

His finger pointed to the 'Memory Eraser' in the System interface—the scarlet font glowing:

['Memory Eraser': Requires 100 Sin Value, can resurrect mother in a parallel world]

Chen Wu's breathing stopped.

He remembered the car accident three years ago—his mother's tire had been punctured, the brake lines cut, and the entire car had flipped into the river. When the firefighters pulled it up, her hand was still clutching the jianbing she had bought for Chen Wu, now soaked and mushy.

His phone suddenly vibrated; it was a push notification from the livestream:

[Girl in baseball cap appears on the streets of Tokyo, holding 'Blood Scripture' fragment, target: Chen Wu]

The future Chen Wu let go of his hand, his black-hole-like eyes reflecting Chen Wu's face: "You now have two choices: Become the System and govern the civilizational leap; or, use the 'Memory Eraser' to resurrect your mother, the price being—"

He paused and pointed to the sky outside the ruins: "The entire civilization regresses by fifty years."

Chen Wu looked up and saw the Antarctic aurora swirling in the sky, turning into the shape of the Taiji Yin and Yang fish.

The popularity of the livestream jumped to 9,999,999 points, just 1 point away from 10 million.

The System prompt popped up again: [Civilizational leap critical point reached] [Please select: Yes/No]

Chen Wu's finger hovered over the screen, and he suddenly remembered Zhao Qiming's last voice message: "The essence of the System is to make you choose whether to 'become a god' or 'be a person'."

He lowered his head and looked at his palm—there was an old scar there, from when his mother took him to get vaccinated as a child; he had struggled and knocked over a medicine bottle, and the glass had cut him.

"Mom." Chen Wu said softly.

He slid his finger down and tapped on the 'Memory Eraser'.

Just then, the girl in the baseball cap on the streets of Tokyo suddenly looked up—

In the sky, a golden waterfall of light crashed down, landing right on her tablet.

The analysis interface of the 'Blood Scripture' fragment suddenly turned into the Taiji Yin and Yang fish, then it shattered with a "pop", and Chen Wu's voice poured out from the fragments: "Sorry, I'll be taking this fragment."

In the Antarctic ruins, the future Chen Wu laughed: "You chose the stupidest path."

Chen Wu turned his head and saw Zhao Qiming in the ice crystal suddenly move—his mechanical fingers twitched, and his fingertips pointed toward the bronze tripod deep in the ruins.

The star map on the bronze tripod flickered with light, pointing toward Kepler-452b.

"What is that?" Chen Wu asked.

"The home planet of the ancient civilization." The future Chen Wu said, "In the murals they left behind, there is an advanced path for 'Basic Internal Skill'—the 'Innate Skill: Quantum Version'."

Chen Wu walked over and touched the bronze tripod—the star map on the tripod suddenly lit up, crawling along his fingertips into his pupils and overlapping with the Taiji pattern inside.

"By the way." The future Chen Wu suddenly said, "Your mother's parallel world is on the third planet of Kepler-452b."

The livestream's popularity finally jumped to 10,000,000 points.

The System interface suddenly formatted, all items disappeared, and only one line of text remained: [Civilizational leap initiated, target: Kepler-452b]

Chen Wu looked up and saw the Antarctic ice sheet beginning to melt, revealing the wreckage of a spaceship underneath—the Taiji pattern was carved on the hull, exactly the same as the one in his pupils.

His phone suddenly rang; it was his mother's number.

He answered it with trembling hands, and a familiar voice came through: "Xiao Wu, are you coming home for dinner tonight? I made your favorite braised pork."

Chen Wu's tears fell, hitting the bronze tripod and making a crisp sound.

The future Chen Wu turned and walked toward the spaceship, his nano-metal body shimmering under the aurora: "Time to go. The door to the parallel world only stays open for ten minutes."

Chen Wu wiped his tears and grabbed the broken sword on the ground—the patterns on the hilt matched his DNA perfectly.

He looked up and saw the spaceship's hatch open, with a warm yellow light shining inside, like the lamps in his mother's living room.

"Coming." Chen Wu said.

He took the first step, and the ice surface under his feet cracked open, revealing the quantum tunnel beneath—the tunnel reflected the scene of Kepler-452b: blue-green oceans, islands floating with Taiji patterns, and... his mother standing at the door, waving at him with a smile.

The last frame of the livestream showed Chen Wu's back as he walked into the quantum tunnel—in his pupils, the Taiji Yin and Yang fish spun faster and faster, eventually turning into a beam of light that shot into the depths of the Universe.

The next day, a paper from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was published in a Nature sub-journal: "Quantum Model of Internal Energy Based on the Chen Wu Case". Abstract: The essence of Internal Energy is the biological strong interaction force (Formula: F_nei = Gm₁m₂/r²・e^(-λr)); the body tempering pill activates the quantum tunneling effect of mitochondria, converting biological energy into quantum energy; Chen Wu's choice proves: the core of civilizational leap is never "becoming a god", but "protecting the human".

In a special program on Tokyo TV, white-collar workers were still learning the "Office Wellness Internal Skill", but this time, the demonstrator on the screen had become Chen Wu—he sat on the sofa and said with a smile: "The essence of Internal Skill is to let you eat well, sleep well, and live well."

The white-collar workers in the audience followed his poses. This time, no one suffered from muscle dissolution; instead, someone said: "Hey, my shoulders don't ache anymore!"

In the classified files of The Pentagon, "Project W" was permanently sealed: Test Subject No. 42 died due to forced Cultivate of the "Surging Wave Hands", with lifespan shortened to 72 hours; the murals brought back by the Antarctic expedition team were restored by AI into an advanced path for "Basic Internal Skill"—the first move of the "Innate Skill: Quantum Version" is "cooking a meal for your mother".

Chen Wu's livestream was still active, with popularity stuck at 10,000,000 points, and his last sentence looped on the screen: "Dear viewers, I am going to see my mom. Next livestream, I will show you the braised pork from the parallel world."

Outside the screen, the crowd in New York's Times Square suddenly moved, the asphalt-like tears disappeared, and they greeted each other with smiles; the volcano on the Pacific island nation erupted again, and the magma no longer contained runes, but reflected Chen Wu's face; the white-collar workers at the Tokyo subway station put down their phones and followed Chen Wu on TV to learn the correct Internal Skill postures; there was no muscle dissolution, but laughter instead.

In the Antarctic ruins, the future Chen Wu watched the quantum tunnel close, his black-hole-like eyes reflecting the star map of the Universe: "He chose correctly."

Next to him, Zhao Qiming twitched his mechanical fingers, emitting an electronic sound: "Yes, what the System wanted was never a 'god', but a 'human with warmth'."

The future Chen Wu turned and walked toward the spaceship. As the hatch slowly closed, his voice drifted out: "Who will the next host be?"

In the distance, the light of Kepler-452b passed through the Universe and landed on the Antarctic ice sheet, turning into a golden waterfall of light. Like the light that shone into his retina when Chen Wu first opened the System store.