Chapter 18: Poison or Spice?

Powers and technology are the two main pillars that support humanity's survival in this cruel post-apocalyptic world. 

Just as technology is divided into fields like biology, chemistry, and physics, with the gradual development and strengthening of the ability system, abilities themselves have been further categorized into two major systems: the Strength System and the Elemental System. 

To make it simpler, using the language of gaming, they could be compared to the warrior and mage professions.

The Strength System generally refers to abilities that enhance the physical combat capabilities of the user, significantly boosting their strength, defense, and speed, with close combat as the primary mode of attack. Within this system, there are further subdivisions, such as Mimicry, Enhancement, and Mutation. 

For instance, Chu Xun's insect-based power, Chu Jie's rock armor, and Chu Qing's diamond body all belong to the Strength System, though each represents a different branch of it. 

On the other hand, the Elemental System has many more branches, including almost any non-martial ability related to elemental forces. 

For example, the fire ability of the princess-like girl, the light abilities of Nangong Yan, and the summoning ability of Chu Xiong all belong to the Elemental System.

With the systematization of these branches, training also became more structured. 

Abilities are innate, but how to use them can be learned through training. That's why nearly every city has specialized institutions to train users of these two systems. Under the highest council's decision, these institutions were given unified names: the Battle Techniques Hall and the Battle Skills Hall.

Though their names sound a bit generic, the content they teach is anything but. Besides the standard cultivation textbooks issued by the highest council, each city also sends experienced practitioners to act as the heads and instructors of these institutions, passing on their battle experience to students who come to learn.

With this kind of structured training, ability users can quickly master their powers and harness them for practical combat.

After a few hours of rest, Chu Xun woke up before dawn and left his home early, planning to go to the Battle Skills Hall for intensive training. Only there could he possibly enhance his strength in the short span of half a month.

However, after leaving his home, Chu Xun didn't head directly to the Battle Skills Hall but instead walked toward the family canteen not far away.

After fusing insect and ant genes, Chu Xun's physical constitution had greatly improved, but his appetite had become terrifying. In just a few hours at home, he had eaten everything available, yet he was still extremely hungry.

Well, this is the real reason why he left so early in the morning — he couldn't bear the hunger anymore!

Luckily, the family canteen was open to the direct descendants of the Chu family for free. Although the food wasn't necessarily great in flavor, it was definitely enough to fill him up. It was free after all.

"Finally, he's out!" Seeing Chu Xun leave his room, Gui Ren, who had been waiting in front of Chu Xun's room for several hours, immediately brightened up, then silently followed behind him.

Gui Ren wasn't an ability user, but in many ways, he was more dangerous than many ordinary ability users. He was a killer who specialized in assassination techniques.

In this brutal world, while ability users can dominate with their powers, ordinary people also have their own ways of growing stronger. For instance, Gui Ren, although powerless, had mastered firearms, hidden weapons, poisons, and other assassination techniques. Since his debut, he had killed over a hundred people, including three ability users.

Because of these unique killing techniques, Gui Ren had gained the trust of Chu Han after joining his ranks and was even assigned to take care of his beloved youngest son. Chu Jie also didn't dare treat Gui Ren like a mere household servant, and he still showed him respect. Even when wanting Gui Ren to kill Chu Xun, he could only try to manipulate him through interests.

"Family canteen? Looks like the heavens are really helping me!" When Gui Ren saw Chu Xun enter the family canteen, his eyes immediately lit up. He then pulled out a few small bottles from his pocket and smiled slightly.

His specialty? Poison.

Since ability users' training and meal times were unpredictable, the Chu family canteen operated 24 hours a day. All the food was pre-packaged in meal boxes, which could be heated up for consumption.

"So hungry…" Seeing the neatly arranged meal boxes in the canteen, Chu Xun's eyes lit up, and he quickly grabbed several boxes, heated them up, and started eating voraciously.

The food in the boxes was quite simple, made of genetically cultivated vegetables and meats. Although the nutritional value was high, the flavor was rather average.

However, for Chu Xun, who was famished, it was enough to fill his stomach. Moreover, he felt that the food tasted better the more he ate. It even seemed like there were additional spices and seasonings that he had never tasted before, which made him even hungrier.

"Huh? When did the canteen food get this good? Could it be that Chu Han, that miser, finally approved extra funds to improve the food?" While eating, Chu Xun couldn't help but feel a bit curious.

In the post-apocalyptic world, food was usually poor, though gene cultivation technology could barely provide the necessary sustenance. To make food more flavorful, there were only two options. 

The first was to risk going outside the city to search for and collect spices. The second was to cultivate them yourself. However, due to the changes in the natural environment and soil composition after the disaster, cultivating spices took considerable time and effort.

Because of this, the price of spices was much higher than that of ordinary ingredients. This was why Chu Xun was so surprised and curious when he tasted the food in the canteen.

Little did he know, his excessive eating had already startled Gui Ren, who was hiding in the shadows.

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this kid…" Seeing Chu Xun eat without hesitation, Gui Ren's face turned ashen.

He was not surprised by Chu Xun's appetite, but by what he was eating. Gui Ren had secretly laced the food with more than ten kinds of deadly poisons. Even the weakest poison could kill an adult man in seconds, and the most potent, "Corrupt Blood Flower," could even kill a typical ability user by making their blood rot and smell foul.

But this kid… after eating so much poison, he seemed fine, and his appetite even seemed to grow!

Where did this monster come from?

"Finally full!" Chu Xun had no idea that the "spices" in his food were actually lethal poisons capable of tearing the body apart and sending the soul to its grave. After finishing nearly ten servings of food, he finally felt full, wiped his mouth, stood up, and walked toward the canteen exit.

His face was flushed, a satisfied smile on his face, and he even hummed a little tune, completely showing no signs of poisoning.

Of course, it was normal that he was fine. After fusing the alien genes, Chu Xun's blood had turned acidic, much like that of an alien. His internal organs were greatly enhanced, and the powerful effects of the "Dragon's Blessing" potion in his system had yet to fully dissipate. At this point, not even the "Corrupt Blood Flower" could harm him. Not to mention, even the legendary "Soul-Breaking Grass," capable of killing high-level ability users, couldn't do much to him.

"Damn it, the intelligence was wrong!" Looking at Chu Xun's flushed face and bright expression, Gui Ren finally couldn't help but curse.

Someone who could treat deadly poisons like spices and eat them without hesitation was definitely not the weakling Chu Jie had described.

To be honest, for an assassin, when the actual situation of the target deviates significantly from the intelligence, the wisest course of action would be to immediately back off and abandon the mission.

But when he thought of the substantial rewards for killing Chu Xun, Gui Ren hesitated again. He was just an ordinary person, and at over thirty years old, his body's capabilities were gradually declining. He didn't want to grow old like this, and the only way to change his situation was to buy gene-enhancing potions to strengthen his genes. This would not only make him physically stronger but also greatly extend his lifespan.

However, gene-enhancing potions were incredibly expensive, and with his current finances, he didn't have enough. That's why these twenty energy crystals were so crucial for him.

"According to the intelligence, this kid was definitely a waste before. Even if he awakened his abilities, it must have been recently. Damn it, I'll do it. After all, this isn't the first time I've dealt with an ability user!" Blinded by greed, Gui Ren finally convinced himself, gritting his teeth and once again following Chu Xun closely.

He believed that with his skills, dealing with a newly awakened ability user would be no problem at all!