Chapter 113
Chapter 113
The dedicated train was the only means of traveling from the Eastern Region’s Safe Zones to the Central Region.
Manufactured by the United Government and maintained by the Anomaly Hunter Bureau, it had a temporary stop in every Safe Zone.
Qin Lan’s train would pass through ten of them, Safe Zones 081 through 090.
Long-distance fare was expensive, but Qin Lan did not have to pay. All he needed was the acting director’s signature for reimbursement.
What if the director refused?
Then Qin Lan would choose to have a passionate slugfest with Dong Haoran.
Qin Lan was no longer the junior who could defeat him only through attrition and a surprise attack with Death’s Curse.
With his current curse resistance, Dong Haoran’s elemental status effects could not affect him at all.
Hmm?
You say it has been a long time since Qin Lan’s status screen appeared, so you have no idea how strong he became after the battle of the fissures?
Hey, I’m honestly not trying to pad the word count.
But since you asked so sincerely…
All right!
—————-
Name: Qin Lan
Race: Human
Class: Backup Reaper (Unique Hidden)
Strength: 68
Constitution: 71
Speed: 65
Spirit: 126 [70] (80% amplification)
Soul Strength: 1.8
Curse Energy: 352 (352/352)
Curse Amplification: 12
Curse Resistance: 82
—————-
Clearly, Qin Lan had grown vastly stronger.
His four basic attributes had already leaped after Dead Silence Academy. Add the bloody battles of the following days, during which dozens of 3-Star anomalies died by his hand…
The widening gap in strength meant he drew less and less power from each death, but quantity made up for quality.
With his four attributes averaging nearly seventy, he was already approaching the threshold of some weaker 4-Star anomalies.
His curse resistance had risen dramatically, and exceptional luck had even granted him another point of curse amplification.
His Curse Core had reached 352.
Its growth was becoming slower, but Qin Lan could sense that the bottleneck remained far away.
That was good news. The more energy he accumulated at Tier 3, the greater the improvement when he broke through to Tier 4.
As far as Qin Lan was concerned, laying the strongest possible foundation at this stage could only benefit him.
It was worth noting that a 3-Star Anomaly Hunter was defined by 3-Star combat power, not necessarily a Tier 3 Curse Core.
Qin Lan himself had killed 3-Star anomalies while his Curse Core was still Tier 2.
Some Anomaly Hunters had weak foundations. Even after breaking through to a Tier 4 Curse Core, their maximum energy might be only three or four hundred. Combined with a weak Talent, they might possess no more than 3-Star combat power.
Others relied on cursed artifacts.
Strictly speaking, Qin Lan’s actual combat power had already entered the ranks of 4-Star Anomaly Hunters.
His Spirit was especially terrifying.
As his Curse Core grew, his Soul Strength had reached 1.8 through the Soul Tower Curse Codex.
That represented an additional eighty-percent boost to Spirit.
A Spirit of 126 already surpassed the Dean of Students from Dead Silence Academy.
Add Verbal Condemnation, a skill designed specifically to attack the mind…
And Qin Lan’s unique, heaven-defying attributes, curse resistance and curse amplification…
Even against a veteran 4-Star Anomaly Hunter, Qin Lan could inflict grave injuries–perhaps even secure a kill.
He was still not enough to match a top-tier figure like Lu Xingshan.
Perhaps only after Qin Lan truly broke through to a Tier 4 Curse Core would he have the ability to fight the Lu Xingshan of the past.
And merely surpassing Lu Xingshan would not be enough to deal with Shan Bai on the other side of the Abyss.
He needed to become even stronger.
[Attention, passengers…]
[Next stop: Eastern Region, Safe Zone 081.]
The announcement made Qin Lan look away from the scenery outside and toward the open doors.
Cheerful conversation drifted in.
Under Qin Lan’s gaze, several young people boarded while chatting and laughing.
Three men and one woman. They radiated the vigorous energy unique to youth, a stark contrast to Qin Lan’s aura.
After surviving more battles than he could count, Qin Lan emitted an unapproachable chill even when he restrained his presence and sat quietly.
Their uniforms surprised him.
He recognized the emblem. Su Xiaoyue had once shown him the same school badge.
[Clear Spring Academy]
The Central Region’s institutions were divided into the Top Three Institutes, Middle Five Halls, and Lower Nine Academies.
Clear Spring Academy consistently ranked near the top of the Lower Nine Academies. Occasionally, it even produced talents capable of competing with the Middle Five Halls.
These people were Clear Spring Academy students?
“Your hometown food is pretty distinctive, Senior Huo… Can you treat us again next vacation?”
“Yeah, that spicy snake soup was incredible…”
The student addressed as Senior Huo smiled and nodded. He seemed approachable, though concealed pride colored his voice.
“Don’t worry. As long as you visit, I’ll cover all your food and entertainment.”
“The Huo family has extensive holdings. A few feasts are nothing.”
The Huo family?
Like Qian Group, it was involved in many industries within Safe Zone 081. Its influence was nowhere near Qian Group’s, however. It was only a second-rate family.
To use Qian Youquan as an example, this “Senior Huo” was probably the sort who had to approach Young Master Qian at a banquet with a glass and an ingratiating smile–and whether Young Master Qian acknowledged him was another matter.
Apparently, Senior Huo was another rich second-generation heir.
The Central Region had no shortage of those. Throw a brick onto any street and you might randomly kill a so-called second-generation heir.
In this world, civilians feared the wealthy. The wealthy courted those in power. Those in power, in turn, dreaded powerful Anomaly Hunters.
It seemed that Anomaly Hunters stood atop the food chain.
But when civilians were in danger, those same hunters had to stand in front of them.
It formed an ingenious circle.
“Qianqian, how’s your roommate lately?”
In the row ahead, Huo Xinran chatted with his classmates, then seemingly casually turned to the only woman among them.
She was petite, with rosy cheeks that could make her pass for a middle school student.
Yu Qianqian blinked. “You mean Xiaoyue?”
“She planned to go home for the break–Safe Zone 088…”
“But something apparently went wrong during training, so her mentor kept her there.”
Another male student looked surprised.
“Safe Zone 088?”
“Wow, she got really lucky! I heard things got vicious there recently. Apparently anomalies appeared inside the city…”
Even Huo Xinran was surprised.
“That happened?”
“How could anomalies appear inside a Safe Zone? You’re not joking, are you?”
News did not flow freely between Safe Zones. Major events that could cause panic were especially tightly suppressed.
Aside from several neighboring Safe Zones where fissures had also appeared, almost no one knew of the disaster.
“It’s true! My uncle was doing business in Safe Zone 089. I heard he almost didn’t make it back…”
The student chattered on about the inside information he had heard.
None realized that someone who had lived through that disaster–one of its key figures–was sitting wide-eyed only a short distance behind them.
“Xiaoyue? Su Xiaoyue?”
Qin Lan stared blankly.
“What are the odds?”
“She’s the roommate Su Xiaoyue mentioned? Yu Qianqian?”