Chapter 50: Activation
"Ugh!"
With a muffled groan, Lin Fan knelt rigidly on the ground, his hand still gripping the dagger.
Seeing Lin Fan’s face turn pale as he clenched his jaw, Chu Zhaozhao had no idea what was happening. She squatted beside him, holding an umbrella over him, and asked frantically,
"Big Bro, what’s wrong? Is your wound hurting again?"
But Lin Fan was focusing all his willpower on fighting the pain, unable to respond in the slightest.
It wasn’t just the wound. A burning sensation was originating from deep within his body, as if his very marrow had been set ablaze...
Suddenly, a deep memory was stirred. A strong sense of déja vu washed over Lin Fan’s mind...
’This feeling!’
’I’ve experienced this before!’
’On the day the apocalypse began!’
...
Chu Zhaozhao was incredibly nervous. She hadn’t expected such a mess to happen when Lin Fan tried to do it himself.
She just hadn’t been mentally prepared, which made her panic. Seeing Lin Fan’s pained expression, she was on the verge of tears.
"Big Bro, what’s wrong?!"
"This is all my fault!"
"I’ll do it! Let me! Give it to me..."
"I’m okay now, I’ll help you..."
As she spoke, she tried to take the dagger from Lin Fan’s hand, but he held it in a death grip, and she couldn’t pry it loose.
Seeing the way Lin Fan’s jaw was clenched, she steeled herself. She plunged her entire hand through the fresh incision Lin Fan had made and began to feel around inside the monster’s body.
Fragments of shredded flesh and organs clung to her skin. The nauseating, sucking sensation made her stomach churn, but she bit her lip hard, holding back tears as she rummaged through the pile of rotten meat until her fingertips touched something hard and cold.
Her eyes lit up. She yanked her arm back, pulling a blood-stained "crystal" out of the monster’s corpse!
Chu Zhaozhao stuck her hand out from under the umbrella, rubbing the stone to wash the blood off both it and her hand in the rain.
"Huh? Big Bro, this one seems a little different from the last one, doesn’t it?"
She then opened her palm, presenting the "crystal" to Lin Fan.
It was indeed different. This crystal wasn’t a sphere, but a polyhedron with sharp edges and corners, like an uncut rough diamond.
[Activation Crystal]
[Energy Level: 1]
[Quality: Common (Fuseable, Effective Channel Structure 10%)]
[Equippable]
[Activation: Equipping this crystal will activate the body, enhancing strength, reaction speed, sensory acuity, and overall recovery speed. Consumes the user’s own energy while equipped. (Degree of activation is based on the crystal’s energy level and quality.)]
Even though Lin Fan was paralyzed by the pain, the crystal’s name and abilities still appeared before his eyes!
Although this wave of pain was extremely similar to the one that had made him pass out the first time, his current constitution was clearly on a different level than it was back then.
So, he wasn’t knocked unconscious by the pain. Gritting his teeth, he forced his left hand to release the dagger, slowly taking the crystal and clenching it in his palm.
’This crystal isn’t just different in appearance; even its properties are a huge departure from the previous one!’
’The energy level is finally not "Incompletely Crystallized" anymore, but "Level 1"!’
’The quality has changed from "Unfuseable" to "Fuseable," and there’s also an "Effective Channel Structure 10%."’
’What does that mean?’
’And consuming the crystal’s energy has changed to consuming the user’s own energy...’
’The user? Me?’
’What energy do I have...?’
’But since it’s equippable, it can consume whatever energy it wants. The effect is basically the same as a Berserk Potion, I just don’t know if it’s as good as an intermediate-grade one...’
’Equip!’
At his mental command, the Activation Crystal replaced the Armor Crystal he had just equipped. A familiar tingling numbness and warm current once again spread through his body.
But unlike last time, this warm current spread from the surface of his body inward, the tingling sensation replacing the intense pain wherever it passed.
"Ah..."
Lin Fan grabbed Chu Zhaozhao’s arm to steady himself, preventing him from falling over.
’Activation Crystal...’
Lin Fan repeated in his mind.
At the same time, he discovered that the moment he equipped the crystal, a strange blue bar appeared below his life bar.
At first, it was faint, but it gradually became clearer until it solidified, becoming as distinct as his Life Value.
[100/100]...
’Is this... my own... energy?’
’I just don’t know how long this [100] will last...’
The Activation Crystal began to take effect. The pain and the internal burning sensation were finally dispelled. The improvement in his physical condition allowed Lin Fan’s mind to gradually clear up as well.
’This familiar feeling in my body, and this effect description...’
He rummaged through his inventory and, sure enough, it was identical to the Berserk Potion!
’Why...’
Lin Fan had been puzzled by the effects of the Stealth Potion and the Stealth Crystal from the very beginning, but he had too few samples back then.
’But this time, with the Activation Crystal and the Berserk Potion...’
’One is a loot drop, while the other forms naturally inside a mutated creature. What exactly is the relationship between them...?’
’But with only these two examples, it’s impossible to find the answer no matter how much I think about it.’
Lin Fan simply gave up on figuring out the principle behind it. As long as it could make him stronger, he would take it all—be it potions or crystals.
He let out a long breath, expelling the stagnant air that had been trapped in his chest. He then slowly opened his eyes and looked at Chu Zhaozhao’s small, grimy face as she squatted beside him.
"Good job. You were a big help..."
He reached out and patted Chu Zhaozhao’s shoulder, pulled the dagger from the Mutant Dog, and slowly got to his feet.
Seeing that Lin Fan had not only recovered his mobility but also wasn’t angry with her, Chu Zhaozhao’s face lit up with joy. She quickly picked up the umbrellas, holding one over Lin Fan’s head and the other over her own.
"Big Bro, please don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to..."
"...It’s fine. Not everyone can face these things so naturally. You already did very well..."
Lin Fan cut her off. Although she had hesitated at first, the moment she saw he was in trouble, she had decisively plunged her hand in to retrieve the crystal. That was brave enough.
"Don’t dwell on it. Come on, let’s go to the other one..."
"Huh? There’s more?"
Chu Zhaozhao said, completely surprised.
Lin Fan thought she didn’t want to dissect another corpse, so he said lightly, "It’s fine. You can go back then. I’ll go by myself..."
"No, no..."
Hearing that Lin Fan was trying to send her away, Chu Zhaozhao hurriedly tried to explain,
"It’s not that I don’t want to help you, Big Bro! I’m just surprised there were three of these monsters?"
Her eyes widened as she raised her voice,
"Big Bro, you killed three of them?!"
After all, when she had woken up, she had only seen the death of the last Mutant Dog. It was reasonable to assume there might have been another one, but she never expected a third!
Lin Fan finally understood what she was surprised about. He glanced at her, then started walking under an umbrella toward the car wash in the distance, away from the gas station.
"What? Is there a problem?"
"Of course not! No problem! No problem at all!"
Chu Zhaozhao quickly shook her head, issuing a "triple denial," then sidled up with a fawning smile and said,
"Big Bro, your skills are unparalleled! It wouldn’t be strange even if you killed ten of them... hehe..."
She looked like someone who had successfully latched onto a powerful backer.
But Lin Fan was in no mood to joke with her. He was just wondering if the crystal inside the other Mutant Dog’s body was the same as this one...