33: Chapter 33 Size as You Wish

As the purple crystal came into his hand, Fang Che felt his palm sink, followed by the eerie sensation of a living creature burrowing into his flesh.

The crystal was cold and hard, pulsing slightly, its rhythm distinct from his own heartbeat.

The next second, the crystal melted silently in his palm, dissolving instantly into countless streaks of deep purple light!

"Zzzzt—"

The purple light seeped through his fingers into his skin, racing madly up his arm along his veins, leaving an icy, bone-chilling sensation in its wake! The light darted precisely into his chest cavity, then exploded with a boom, merging into every corner of his body, every inch of his muscles and bones!

Fang Che's pupils constricted slightly, and his body tensed uncontrollably.

A powerful sense of control awakened within him.

He could suddenly clearly see into himself, perceiving the fiber direction of every muscle, the resilience of every fascia, and even the subtle state of every bone. It was as if his body, previously a precision machine he could only operate by instinct, had instantly upgraded into a war weapon with root access, capable of arbitrary programming and precise regulation.

[System Alert: You have obtained a special skill crystal core.]

[Skill learned successfully.]

[Skill Name: Size Manipulation.]

[Skill Grade: A-Grade.]

[Skill Effect: Can actively control any part of the body to change its size, shape, and strength, achieving localized enhancement. The attack power, defense, and load-bearing capacity of the enhanced part are significantly increased.]

[Skill Cost: Consumes 20 Mental Energy points per activation, duration 5 minutes.]

[Note: Please use reasonably.]

Fang Che's eyes paused, and a playful arc tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Use reasonably?"

This note from the system felt way off.

He looked down at his right hand, his thoughts shifting slightly.

Hum.

His right palm expanded by a size visible to the naked eye, the muscle lines under his skin bulging and taut, brimming with explosive power.

Fang Che clenched his fist.

Crack, crack, crack!

As he made a fist, a subtle popping sound emanated from his knuckles, and an invisible air pressure diffused from the center of his fist.

Fang Che casually grabbed a tough [Mist-Hidden Scale] from the pile of supplies and gently closed his fingers.

"Creak... Crack!"

The gray scale, shimmering with a metallic luster, was actually cracked into a spiderweb pattern by his raw grip!

A flash of surprise crossed Fang Che's eyes.

This skill was even more exaggerated than he had imagined! The A-Grade rating was definitely an underestimate!

Used on his fists, his melee explosive power would skyrocket. Used on his arms, his slashing and throwing power would multiply. Used on his legs, the power of his short-distance sprints and kicks would be terrifying.

Even... for energy conduction and output throughout his body...

Fang Che's expression became subtle. The definition of "any part" combined with the "use reasonably" note practically opened the door to a new world. The uses for this skill were truly vast; if used well, it was absolutely a bug-level god-tier skill!

Just as Fang Che was comprehending his new skill, the sudden change in his aura attracted everyone's attention.

"Fang Che... has he gotten stronger again?" Su Qingxue supported an injured girl, her eyes flickering with uncertain surprise. She was very good at observation and analysis and could sense that the feeling Fang Che gave off now was even more profound than when he had leveled up just moments ago; there was an added sense of control.

Teacher Qin Bing leaned against the carriage, her chest still heaving slightly. She watched Fang Che's back, her eyes complex. With this man, you never knew where his limits lay. Every time you thought you had seen him clearly, he would immediately reveal an even more inconceivable side.

"Fang Che." Jiang Ning swallowed the meat in her mouth, lowered her voice, and glanced coldly toward the carriage, "The people in the car have a wrong look in their eyes, like wild dogs starved to madness."

"I know." Fang Che's tone was flat.

Teacher Qin Bing also frowned: "We must establish a distribution system as soon as possible, otherwise there will be internal problems. Human hearts are harder to deal with than monsters."

Su Qingxue calmly added: "It's not that there will be problems; the problem is already here."

At this moment, the warm breeze mixed with the exotic aroma of meat penetrated the carriage, triggering an intense sense of hunger in every survivor on board.

Their stomachs were cramping and burning madly, their throats were parched and searing, uncontrollably secreting sour saliva that they then swallowed with difficulty.

"Gurgle... Gurgle..."

The sounds of swallowing and rumbling stomachs rose and fell, sounding exceptionally clear and pathetic in the narrow rear of the carriage.

Their eyes stared fixedly outside.

Staring at Jiang Ning tearing off a large piece of meat and devouring it, her wounds healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Staring at the other dozen or so girls who had participated in the battle, who, with Fang Che's tacit permission, carefully picked up small pieces from the foot of the meat mountain and then ate them in small bites as if they were treasures, the fatigue and pain on their faces quickly fading, replaced by the joy of surviving a disaster and a hopeful glow for the future.

This bloody contrast stung Li Wei's heart.

"Why? Why!"

Regret, jealousy, hunger, fear... all sorts of negative emotions churned wildly in her chest, almost shattering her sanity.

"We are also members of the team! Just because of one wrong choice, do we have to watch ourselves starve to death? That man... how can he be so cold-blooded! So heartless!"

"Right! These supplies were dropped after killing over thirty monsters! But if it weren't for us 'smart people' ensuring the safety of the base in the rear, could those people in the front fight with peace of mind? We also contributed! We were guarding the rear!"

Once this thought arose, it instantly filled Li Wei's brain.

"Weiwei... I'm so hungry... I'm going to die..." Lin Xinyi, beside her, tugged at her clothes weakly, her voice feeble.

"Let's... let's go ask him for some food... just a little bit... otherwise we'll really die..." another girl begged, crying.

These voices made her make up her mind.

Li Wei's pupils suddenly contracted, and a look of madness appeared on her face, which was twisted by jealousy.

She shoved Lin Xinyi aside and, surrounded and watched by a few girls behind her, stumbled to the carriage door.

She looked at the back surrounded by everyone in the center, looked at the mountain of supplies, and the emotions pent up in her heart finally erupted.

"Fang Che!"

She looked at the meat mountain, her throat bobbing hard, and she screamed in a shrill voice: "But... but we are also people in this team! People on the same team should help each other!"

"You have so much meat, what's wrong with sharing a little with us? Do you want to watch us starve to death?"

As soon as these words were out, several girls from the rear group immediately followed with low murmurs of agreement.

"Yeah... we're all classmates..."

"We didn't mean not to come out; we were really scared."

"There's so much meat, you can't possibly finish it all; sharing a little won't hurt."

"Fang Che, didn't you say before that you would keep us from dying?!"

The last sentence made the atmosphere on the scene sink.

Fang Che turned around slowly, his right hand, now back to its normal size, casually shoved into his pocket. He looked at her calmly for a few seconds, his eyes indifferent.

Then, he asked softly: "You think it's unfair?"

Li Wei swallowed her saliva, forcing herself to nod: "Yes."

Fang Che asked again: "So you think these things should be shared equally among everyone?"

Li Wei's eyes lit up, thinking she had swayed Fang Che.

"No... not asking for an equal share, at least... at least don't leave us with nothing at all."

Lin Xinyi also finally squeezed to the front, her voice weak, carrying a hint of perfectly timed tearfulness: "Fang Che, we know we didn't help just now, but we were really scared too. You are so strong, you should... you should be the best at understanding the fear of weaklings like us, right?"