To Eat or Not to Eat
Xiao Ziyun held his forehead.
His face was pale as he coughed while walking into the room.
Bang!
The door of the room was closed. Tang Hong shook his head without a word. "Number 1 seed Xiao Ziyun appears to be in poor health. His complexion is so pale, isn't he sick?"
Tang Hong didn't think that was the case.
It couldn't be so coincidental that he fell ill on the first day of entering the campsite.
"Is it because of Transcendent Techniques or did he have the same condition as me? Is the strong Willpower weighing down on his cranial nerves?"
Tang Hong massaged the area between his brows.
He now had a lot of Individual Values stored up but he did not use all of them.
"Everyone says that breaking through the limits of Willpower is a strenuous threshold that's difficult to overcome. If I need 20 points of Individual Value to add all in one go just to break through the limits… that would be an unimaginable pain."
"I'll do my best to save up Individual Value."
"Before challenging the limits, I'll try in advance to find out the extent of pain I can endure before going for it in one shot."
Tang Hong continued to ponder until sleepiness engulfed him. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already hanging in the sky. It looked to be about 11 AM but it wasn't noon yet.
He really couldn't fall asleep.
He decided to get out of bed and rummaged around the single room.
Individual Value could not be exposed. If word got out then he could get stronger just by being alone, problems might arise… Nothing could be contained in the stools and tea table. It was also empty beneath the light-colored single bed made of solid wood. The bare bed reflected the smooth floor tiles.
"I shall look around some more."
Tang Hong tried to lift the glass tea table.
The base of the tea-table sunk inwards. He couldn't really get a clear look. Tang Hong casually touched around, feeling this side and that, until he reached a certain corner.
His expression changed slightly. There was something stuck to the sunken base that was closer to his side.
It was a piece of stiff paper.
Tang Hong lifted his head. He looked left and right and tore down that piece of white paper.
When he opened it for a glimpse, there were red writings on it: The stalwart and supreme He seemed to be watching me. I wish that His country will never arrive—
Tang Hong faltered.
Watching?!
His Adam's apple moved. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings, there wasn't any filming equipment in the room. It was like a bare, unfinished room, with only thick and solid wallpaper that was used for insulation applied.
"Impossible."
If the gods had the ability to watch this area, the special training camp would've long been moved elsewhere.
In addition, being addressed as the 'stalwart and supreme He'.
If this was a god, at what level could it be?
Tang Hong instinctively believed that with the prefixes stalwart and supreme, it wouldn't be as simple as that halo of golden flame that he spotted that night.
Of course, it was also possible that gods from other dimensions were merely an appellation for living things.
For example, mermaids and man-eating sharks. They were also extremely frightening creatures to the average man.
Tang Hong opened up the sheet of paper and studied it in detail several more times under the sunlight.
"The red handwritings are so shoddy that it seemed to be written in a haste, trembling all over and scrawling in fear… but every single stroke had exhausted all the strength from his body."
Even the paper that was made of a name card material was torn!
There was little force when the pen was first put to the paper but every character became extremely protruded at the end.
"This piece of paper." Tang Hong rubbed the thickness at the edge of the paper and flipped it around. He stared at those distinct protrusions.
It was seeping with red, a blood-red kind of color.
Instantly, he felt his scalp go numb.
"Was this written with a red graphite ink pen or fresh blood!?"
He turned it over repeatedly and stared.
Tang Hong read through it twice in a soft voice.
"The stalwart and supreme He seems to be watching me. I wish that His country will never arrive… never arrive. That sentence isn't logical. Even a primary school student would not form a sentence like that."
"Unless the person writing is in a confused state of mind."
"He has lost normal consciousness."
The more he pondered, the stronger the chill in his heart. He felt like he had fallen into an ice cave when it was a hot summer day!
Tossing this sheet of paper aside, Tang Hong hurriedly dashed into the bathroom and pulled two sheets of toilet paper. He wrapped the small scrap of paper up and held it in his palm.
His palm was already full of sweat.
He didn't dare to dwell on it. Pushing open the door and heading out, he jogged out of the building.
The sun was blazing and the air was hot. The two buildings were unusually quiet. The admitted trainees were probably all catching up on sleep and had yet to wake up.
Ahead of the two buildings, was the third building meant for having meals? The use of the fourth building was unknown.
Tang Hong did not see any people around.
At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a white coat slowly walked out of the building used for meals. Upon seeing Tang Hong, he pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and commented in surprise.
"It's only 10 AM."
He had heard from his colleagues that the chief instructor made this batch of trainees stand until daybreak before letting them into the campsite.
After all that, it would be considered if they could fall asleep at 5 to 6 AM. The Special Training Camp focused on training. They could not maltreat trainees. Ample sleep time was very necessary.
"It's only 10 AM, go back and get some more sleep."
The middle-aged man waved at Tang Hong.
Tang Hong went forward and said. "I have some urgent matter. I would like to look for that chief instructor."
"Chief Niu has a terrible temper. I do not recommend that you do this." The middle-aged man looked at Tang Hong. "If you insist, come with me. Don't ask questions and don't speak."
"Alright, thank you."
Tang Hong followed behind the middle-aged man and stepped into the fourth building whose use was unknown. Upon entering, he faced five elevator doors, very simple and crude elevator doors.
Barbed wire?
Elevators for construction sites?
Tang Hong did not ask. He followed the middle-aged man into the elevator and went down to the basement by two levels. When the elevator doors opened, two perfectly straight passageways appeared before Tang Hong's eyes. Just like the tunnels of the aquariums, an unknown silvery-white liquid flowed through the outer walls of the passageway.
Tang Hong did not utter a sound.
The middle-aged man said with a smile. "Look as much as you want, it's okay. These are mercury that can effectively resist the permeation of a God's divine power. I knew for certain that you won't believe that there is a Regular God stored in this campsite."
"Regular God? Dangerous God?"
Two terms abruptly sprouted out of Tang Hong.
The middle-aged man's expression froze. He had wanted to enjoy Tang Hong's unseemly manner of being shocked but he did not expect that this young trainee who had been admitted for less than a day actually knew about the classifications of the gods.
The middle-aged packed up his leisureliness and asked cautiously. "You are Xiao Ziyun from Guangnan? Your accent doesn't like it."
"I am not Xiao Ziyun." Tang Hong shook his head.
The middle-aged man shook his head without a word. He led Tang Hong through multiple winding passageways and arrived at a corner.
He said in a low voice to Tang Hong. "I'll go in to look for Chief Niu, hold on."
About two minutes passed.
Deng! Deng! Deng!
Niu Hechuan stepped out on long strides in a pair of steel boots. He yelled from afar. "Tang Hong! Why aren't you resting? Who told you to come out and roam around?!"
When he came close, Tang Hong took three steps to the side.
He shifted about two meters but the subtle act made Niu Hechuan's gaze move slightly. That harsh expression changed a little as he arrived before Tang Hong.
He did not say anything.
Tang Hong refused to speak as well. He swiftly lifted his hand and unfolded that ball of crumpled tissue paper that was in his palm.
Niu Hechuan grabbed it, stripped off the layers, and saw the small scrap of paper.
"Very good."
There wasn't any change in his expression, but his voice became warmer. "Tang Hong, I've noted you to memory. This matter remains strictly confidential, except with me and the six instructors… go back now. I'm really looking forward to your entrance test."
He watched Tang Hong leave.
He put the paper away then walked expressionlessly into the monitored area that had cameras around.
——
At 12 noon, Niu Hechuan's deafening voice abruptly sounded through broadcast in the two buildings where the admitted trainees resided.
"Gather in the dining hall within half an hour. One serving of Transcendent food per person!"
"Be late at your own risk!"
He shouted three whole times.
Even the sleepiest person would have been so startled and break out in cold sweat.
Most importantly, for some reason, a dozen Special Training Camp Staff entered the two buildings in protection clothing. They claimed that they were running a complete inspection and cleaning, in case someone gets a bacterial infection and falls ill.
Wash up, head out and gather. Everyone successively arrived in the dining hall and sat in small groups in the cold seats.
Meal trays were already placed on the tables before them.
However, it wasn't rice and dishes nor was it noodles in the meal trays. It wasn't a known food. Instead, it was a gold-colored food that resembled soup or some liquid. There were only some grains of rice flowers that were vaguely visible.
Inside the dining hall, the 300 admitted trainees stared at one another, entirely in silence.
The simple standard meal trays of the dining hall matched with an unknown gold-colored food that looked like golden-yellow sponge cake with rice grains mixed in at first glance. But at closer examination, one would find that large amounts of golden spots floated on the surface of the food, like well-distributed powder.
Who would dare to eat that?
Nobody had seen this food before, they dare not eat it at all.
"Gold-Colored Powder."
Tang Hong also looked uncertain. "This can't be gold dust, can it?"
Eating gold dust won't kill, it would only destroy one's gastrointestinal functions before causing death.
Beside him, Jiang Lulu who had been quiet for one night was also wide-eyed. She pushed around with her chopsticks. "It's not gold dust. It's probably man-made food. We just don't know what additives were used."
"Let's eat."
Tang Hong made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and attempted to eat a mouthful.
Instantly!
A rich fragrance, light and delicious. It was as if all the fragrances of nature that seemed to contain flora and fauna instantly surged into his mouth. It was soft like egg fried rice yet could also melt in one's mouth. This novel, complicated texture assaulted Tang Hong's taste buds.
The gold powder was spread all over the surface of his tongue. It had probably wrapped up the aroma of the food entirely, not the slightest bit was leaked.
When it entered his mouth, the intriguing delicate fragrance hidden within the food immediately filled his mouth. As he swallowed, Tang Hong even felt his abdomen grow warm and his body was slightly refreshed.
It was unexpectedly delicious!
Tang Hong was surprised.
He pursed his lips and an extremely bold guess appeared in his heart.
This meal was possibly made from a god's flesh.
'But do gods have flesh?'
'Were they edible?'