189: Chapter 189 Top-Tier Passive Skills

Chapter 189: Top-Tier Passive Skill

It was a little past seven o'clock in the morning.

Although the rain had stopped, the fog hung between the uneven buildings like graying cotton.

The red and blue lights of a police patrol car flickered silently at the street corner, flashing bright and dim.

Several yellow-and-black caution tapes cordoned off a nine-story residential building.

Early-rising neighbors passing by occasionally paused to crane their necks, pointing and discussing.

Cheng Leyi stood by the window with military binoculars in hand, observing the gray-and-white Tubular Building across from her.

She crunched on a refreshing mint, making a crunching sound.

The lens with its crosshairs aimed at a window with drawn curtains, clearly revealing the sight inside the apartment.

A housewife was busy making breakfast; even from this distance, one could almost hear the harsh whistling of the pressure cooker boiling porridge.

The husband, who wasn't working today, walked out of the bedroom in his pajamas, yawning as he began to wash his face and brush his teeth.

After pausing briefly, the lens continued to Move upward.

In the next room, there was only an elderly man living alone.

He sat alone in a rocking chair, staring blankly at an overturned pill bottle on the floor.

Seeing this, Cheng Leyi tapped her finger slightly to switch to thermal imaging mode.

Then, she muttered into her headset:

"January 30th, 7:20 AM. Target #4 on the 8th floor. Suspected to have taken sedatives; body surface temperature is about 1.5°C lower than normal, temporarily within reasonable limits..."

As she was recording her surveillance, she faintly heard the door open behind her.

Then, a series of footsteps sounded, gradually approaching her.

Without turning around, Cheng Leyi knew it was her teammate returning.

"How is it? Any anomalies on your side?"

A burly man with a full beard walked straight up to her side.

His voice was rather loud, and even though he intentionally lowered it, it still made her ears ring.

Cheng Leyi shook her head without speaking.

"Take a break for a while."

The bearded man then advised, "Those monsters are night owls that like to come out at night. During the day, they basically curl up in their holes and won't show themselves."

Cheng Leyi merely grunted an "mm," remaining focused on her surveillance task.

The mint in her mouth was already finished. Inhaling the cold air felt like countless tiny ice needles stimulating her taste buds.

Suddenly, her nostrils twitched as she caught an intensely rich aroma of meat.

Her stomach immediately grumbled. She put down the binoculars and turned to look at her companion standing nearby:

"Lin Xuhao, you bought good food! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

The bearded man held two takeout bags with an innocent expression on his face.

As if to say, "You were ignoring me just now."

The room was spacious and cold, devoid of any furniture.

The two sat directly on the concrete floor, opened the food containers, and began enjoying breakfast.

This place was originally a roughcast apartment, temporarily rented by them for the observation mission, which was why it looked so crude.

"Sigh, this lousy mission looks simple, but it's actually the most exhausting."

"We've been staring like voyeurs here for over ten hours without spotting a trace of a monster. Earning mission points is really not easy."

Lin Xuhao clearly didn't look like a refined gentleman, mumbling complaints while taking huge bites of a chicken leg.

Cheng Leyi, despite being a girl, paid no mind to her image either. She grabbed a meat bun, stuffed it into her mouth, and replied indistinctly:

"The epidemic prevention department is coming over later for disinfection and inspection. As long as no accidents occur within 48 hours, we can pull out."

Last night, the two had stayed up all night at observation posts on either side of the Tubular Building to carry out their surveillance task.

Relaxing slightly now, they chatted while eating, exchanging various pieces of intelligence they had gathered.

"Let's hope so..."

Lin Xuhao finished the chicken leg in his hand in a few bites, then grabbed a second one and continued:

"I just got news from the Criminal Investigation Team. After He Yao's bones were found, a DNA match confirmed it was him. Whoever killed him is definitely no walk in the park."

Cheng Leyi's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately said:

"Doesn't that just prove my guess was right? This case wasn't a matter of cannibalistic infighting among their kind at all, but rather a chance encounter."

Lin Xuhao nodded; he thought so too.

Ghouls could accelerate their evolution by eating their own kind, and bones held the highest nutritional value.

Since that Masked Man had left the bones completely intact, he definitely didn't belong to the Ghoul side.

As for whether he was another monster hiding among ordinary people or a descendant of a prominent family with hunting habits, it remained unknown for now.

The former was a ticking time bomb, while the latter wasn't good news for the Special Investigation Team either.

"I don't know why the higher-ups care so much about that masked guy, asserting he's a resident of this area based on a few blurry camera clips."

Lin Xuhao frowned and muttered a few words:

"According to the witnesses' descriptions, He Yao should have already evolved into an Intermediate Ghoul. To deal with such a dangerous monster requires at least a C-Rank esper."

"How could someone with that kind of strength hide in a dump like Jiuchang Street? Guys, once they gain power, naturally want to pursue excitement—villas, luxury cars, beauties..."

Cheng Leyi glanced at him:

"Like you, right?"

Lin Xuhao gave a sheepish laugh and hurriedly explained:

"I'm just playing around with those women. You know we aren't ordinary people—enjoying life while we can is what really matters..."

"You scoundrel!"

Cheng Leyi snorted in disgust, took out a napkin, and wiped her mouth and fingers.

Then she stood up, picked up her binoculars again, and observed the scene in the opposite building.

The lens swept past household after household in order of the floors.

Suddenly, her pupils shrank slightly, and her face showed a flicker of surprise.

Through the rain-stained glass window, her view revealed a lean, well-built young man.

He was shirtless, lying on the living room floor doing his morning exercise.

With every rise and fall of his movements, his muscular lines shifted from maximum tension to a gradual stretch.

In the faint morning light, beads of sweat slowly seeped from his spine, rolling and flowing down his well-defined waist.

The entire man looked like an artwork meticulously sculpted by a Great Master, overflowing with a masculine beauty unique to men.

Most importantly, he was extraordinarily handsome.

To possess such toned muscles while having facial features so good-looking was truly rare and precious.

It was practically brimming with sex appeal, a total explosion of hormones!

Cheng Leyi swallowed lightly, adjusted the focal length to maximum, and stared unblinkingly at this wonderful scene.

After a long while, she quietly sighed:

"Pity he's all show and no substance. Doing just a few Push-ups, and he's already dripping with sweat and gasping for air."

"Still, this figure and these muscles are just too perfect. I really want to reach out and rub them..."

"Rub what?"

Lin Xuhao, who was eating voraciously, had sharp ears and raised his head in surprise to ask.

"Oh, nothing. I was saying that given the current situation, I reckon we can leave here tomorrow."

Cheng Leyi's expression didn't change as she slowly turned around.

Seeing the food containers on the floor in a complete mess, her willow brows immediately knitted together:

"Lin Xuhao, were you reincarnated from a starved ghost? You didn't leave more for me!"

She then sat back down, scrambling to pull the remaining few intact food containers over to herself.

Lin Xuhao looked at her speechlessly.

She clearly looked so quiet and delicate, yet she acted like a tomboy.

Cheng Leyi couldn't care less about her companion's internal complaints; her mind was still recalling the scene she had just witnessed.

Based on the background identity data retrieved from the police, combined with a comparative analysis of what she observed last night and this morning,

she was more inclined to rule him out as a suspect.

How could such a cute and self-disciplined guy turn into that kind of ugly, crazy monster?

Cheng Leyi was genuinely unwilling to believe it, glancing at Lin Xuhao who was still devouring his food.

At least he was far more pleasing to the eye than this scruffy guy in front of her, looking much more like a normal person.

A few minutes later.

All the food in over a dozen containers was completely finished off, showing that both of their physical qualities far surpassed ordinary people.

...

The morning light in the room was soft, holding a peaceful atmosphere distinct from the outside world.

The gas stove flickered with blue flames, and the kettle bubbled, emitting white steam.

The television screen flickered with images, and the news anchor read the morning news in a steady voice.

"Phew..."

"290."

"Phew..."

"291."

"..."

Fang Cheng pressed his hands against the ground, keeping his back straight as he performed Push-ups.

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Right now, however, his face was flushed red and his brows were tightly furrowed as he panted heavily while counting his reps.

Beads of sweat dripped continuously from his chin, falling onto the worn Korean pine wood floor.

The muscles in his arms trembled slightly; every push down and lift up appeared excruciatingly difficult.

When he reached 300,

as if finally completing an immensely arduous task, he let out a low shout from his throat.

Then, straining to straighten his arms, he stood up on somewhat faltering feet, his body swaying slightly.

"Hoo... Hoo..."

Fang Cheng tilted his face up, gasping heavily, looking utterly exhausted like a dehydrated salted fish.

Of course,

all of this was an act.

The flushed face and dripping sweat were merely illusions created by silently circulating the True Qi in his body.

With his current physical fitness, he could force himself to do 1,000 standard two-arm Push-ups continuously without even catching his breath.

How could a mere 300 make him tired?

Even though his physique had grown much bulkier and his weight had increased significantly, it was still impossible.

[Push-up EXP +3]

A notification message floated past his vision.

As he lowered his head and eyes, he caught a fleeting glint of reflection between the gaps of the curtains on the eighth floor opposite him.

Fang Cheng turned around nonchalantly, leaving the curtains open as he slowly walked toward the bathroom.

*Splashing water—*

Turning on the faucet, he took off his gold-rimmed glasses.

He then picked up a towel, wringed it wet, and wiped his face vigorously.

Raising his head, he looked at his bright, spirited eyes in the mirror.

Fang Cheng's face was calm, entirely devoid of the gritting teeth and strain-contorted expression from earlier.

By now, one thing could be basically confirmed.

The woman peeping at him through binoculars across the street was an operative sent by the Special Investigation Team.

However,

the target of the Special Investigation Team's surveillance didn't seem to be locked onto him alone.

This fact gave Fang Cheng quite a bit of relief.

By the time he finished practicing Tai Chi last night, it was already past 11:00 PM.

Instead of continuing his Meditation practice, he had chosen to pull up the blanket and sleep straight through.

This morning, he had even slept in comfortably.

It wasn't until seven o'clock that he got out of bed and began exercising.

His morning workout routine had naturally undergone some adjustments.

He simply did 300 Squats, 300 Push-ups, and 100 Back Bridges.

This level was well within the range achievable by an ordinary person with enough effort.

The role Fang Cheng was currently playing was that of a lower-class civilian who earned money as a sparring partner at a combat club while studying hard to pass the postgraduate entrance exam.

A promising youth freed from vulgar tastes, full of ambition, sunny and cheerful.

Aside from his rather sturdy build, no matter how one looked at him, he couldn't be associated with images like "monsters" or "demons."

Although Fang Cheng could have chosen to appear even more ordinary and plain, doing so would actually make him more suspicious.

After all, his identity and past history could be investigated at any time.

Showing off an appropriate amount of excellence as he did now was just right.

Although his normal training plan was affected as a result, he could dedicate more time to practicing other skills.

At this thought, Fang Cheng's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the panel appearing before him.

The skill Rank for Tai Chi was relatively low, so the efficiency of leveling it up was comparatively higher.

After focusing his practice over the past few days, his EXP had grown rapidly, leading to a smooth Breakthrough last night and rewarding him with a pleasant surprise enhancement.

[Force Dispersion: Deeply understanding the martial principle of overriding hardness with softness, the muscles throughout the body form an instinctive response to neutralize external attacks.]

[Under the prerequisite that one's own speed is greater than the target's speed within the same time frame, attacks below 2 tons can be neutralized; attacks exceeding 2 tons will be mitigated based on this baseline.]

[This is an embodiment of Tai Chi techniques gradually advancing toward the highest level; every skill upgrade can further raise the upper limit of Force Dispersion.]

Looking at the special effect description of his Tai Chi, which had been promoted to Expert level, Fang Cheng couldn't help but savor that almost mysterious state of enlightenment once again.

So-called martial techniques, regardless of variations, never depart from their core principles, which boil down to two aspects:

enabling one's body to unleash its full power, and successfully neutralizing all attacks launched by the opponent.

Simply put, one offense and one defense.

For any Martial Skill or Punching technique to be truly applied in actual combat, merely practicing the Moves to proficiency is useless.

It requires forgetting all learned external forms, ultimately retaining only the knowledge of how to exert force, forming muscle memory.

If all the Moves of Tai Chi center around the four-character formula for confronting an enemy: Catch, Lead, Neutralize, Release;

then "Force Dispersion" is the Fusion of "Catch" and "Neutralize," representing a top-tier technique for deflecting attacks.

To put it in plain terms, it means "taking a hit before striking back," where "taking a hit" is the direct manifestation of "Force Dispersion."

Of course, this doesn't mean standing there foolishly letting someone hit you, but rather using techniques such as contracting muscles and deflecting force in an instant when the opponent attacks, so that even if hit, insufficient damage is dealt.

This special skill effect is actually equivalent to a passive defense skill.

Combined with the five hard-Qigong-like special effects: "Iron Fist," "Steel Bones," "Iron Bridge," "Master of Strong Wrists," and "Qilin Arm,"

it could be said that his ability to withstand impacts was raised even further.

Regrettably...

he had no real combat opponent right now to test its specific effects.

After washing up, Fang Cheng returned to the living room and watched the news broadcast showing celebrations welcoming the Spring Festival all across the country.

A sense of melancholy welled up in his heart.

Today was the 30th, the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, just seven days away from the New Year.

He hoped the police would end the lockdown soon.

He had originally planned to visit his grandfather at the hospital today.

Calling his mother yesterday, he learned that his grandfather's post-surgery recovery was going smoothly.

It was estimated that in another two or three days, he could be moved out of the intensive care unit.

As he pondered, Fang Cheng suddenly heard a loudspeaker announcement from the police downstairs.

It seemed an epidemic prevention team had arrived to conduct a comprehensive disinfection of the entire building, along with free physical examinations.