Chapter 97 - 89: Power Enhancement Card, The 5-Level Division
Xu Jun was nowhere to be seen in the living room; he was probably still asleep.
Jia Wen was in the kitchen, cooking.
Wang Biao was sitting on the sofa, carefully wiping down his battle bow and arrows.
He’d grown incredibly fond of this B-Level battle bow ever since he got it. He never said so, but it was obvious from the meticulous care he gave it.
But this wasn’t surprising.
Wang Biao was a martial artist who had come from the battlefield. He had been a Centurion and spent his entire life surrounded by fists, feet, and weaponry.
So it was only natural that he couldn’t put down such a fine weapon.
"Sir, you’re awake?"
"I’ve already cut a batch of fresh grass from the pasture to feed the wild rabbits, wild ducks, and wild chickens. I also sprinkled some in the mud pond."
Chen Chong glanced at a bucket of green grass by the door. "You even cut the grass for the fishpond, too?"
Wang Biao smiled. "You’ve been working too hard lately, Sir. I figured if I did a little more, you could get some more rest."
Chen Chong was moved, patting Wang Biao’s shoulder without saying much else.
Some things don’t need to be said. A single glance was enough for them to understand each other.
Then Wang Biao spoke again. "It’s just that the Lion-headed Goose doesn’t seem to eat the grass I give it, and it won’t go to the pasture to eat on its own. I’m afraid you’ll have to be the one to feed it, Sir."
Chen Chong smiled. The Lion-headed Goose was just that stubborn by nature.
But that was precisely why he had summoned it.
He’d noticed over the past few days that aside from actively pecking at the bugs in the pasture, it wouldn’t eat anything else on its own—not even its favorite green grass.
’Perhaps in its eyes, those things needed protecting.’
’The bugs, on the other hand, were invaders that needed to be eliminated. And it just so happened to enjoy eating them...’
Moreover, it was a very well-behaved and clean goose.
Ordinary fowl can’t hold their droppings; they basically relieve themselves wherever they walk.
The Lion-headed Goose was different. It would deliberately go to the pasture or the fields to do its business.
He didn’t know how it managed to hold it in. Or perhaps, when it felt the urge, it would run to one of those two spots and wait, only resuming its patrol after it was finished.
In the past two days, Chen Chong hadn’t seen a single goose dropping on the living room floor.
All in all, just as described on the Recruitment Card, this was a very special goose...
"Here, eat up."
Chen Chong casually grabbed a handful of green grass from the bucket and scattered it on the ground. The Lion-headed Goose immediately started gobbling it up.
Then, after emptying the rest of the grass from the bucket into the fishpond, Chen Chong took out an Enhancement Card and gave it to Wang Biao.
"Use this Card."
"Sir, this Card... is an Enhancement Card?"
Wang Biao was a little surprised.
He had personally seen the Comprehensive Enhancement Card when they killed the Terror Wolf King. Although this Enhancement Card looked a bit different, he still recognized it at a glance.
"That’s right."
"Sir, I can’t possibly accept this! A treasure like this is for you to use. How could I..."
Chen Chong cut him off before he could finish.
Only after Chen Chong explained why did Wang Biao stop protesting.
"So that’s how it is. The Card can only be used by someone who was recruited? In that case, thank you for this treasure, Sir!"
"Hurry up and use it. I’m curious to see how much your strength will increase."
"Yes, Sir!"
Wang Biao wasted no time, using the Card on the spot.
Soon, the Card dissolved into a stream of light and vanished...
"How is it?" Chen Chong asked.
Wang Biao looked down at his hands, slowly clenching them into fists then relaxing. A look of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
"Sir, I feel like my strength has increased by at least... ninety percent!"
"Ninety percent?" Chen Chong was shocked. "That much?"
’That’s almost double.’
Wang Biao was already a big, sturdy man. He’d practiced martial arts for thirty years, ever since he was a child. As an archer, his strength was already immense.
Even Chen Chong and Xu Jun together couldn’t beat him in arm wrestling.
Of course, that was before Chen Chong had used the Comprehensive Enhancement Card.
After Chen Chong used his Card, they’d tried again, and their strength had been nearly equal.
But now, after Wang Biao used the Power Enhancement Card, his strength had practically doubled...
’That much strength is just insane.’
"Looks like this B-Level Power Enhancement Card is pretty amazing."
Chen Chong was very satisfied.
While the Comprehensive Enhancement Card hadn’t given him such a ridiculous boost to his own strength, it had still been a fifty or sixty percent increase.
Besides, the key to the Comprehensive Enhancement Card was in its name—it was comprehensive.
It wasn’t just an increase in strength, but a multi-faceted boost to speed, physical toughness, reflexes, stamina, and mental acuity.
Even though the specialized Enhancement Cards used by recruited members couldn’t compare to the Comprehensive Enhancement Card, being able to nearly double one’s strength far exceeded Chen Chong’s expectations.
With Wang Biao being stronger, Chen Chong felt more confident about their future operations and hunts for Extraordinary Creatures.
"Come on, let’s test our strength!"
Chen Chong and Wang Biao arm-wrestled. Chen Chong was unfortunately defeated, but it was an expected outcome.
"Not bad. Your strength really has increased a lot. It looks like you’re at least at the fifth level for a normal person now. And if not, you’re right on the cusp!"
Chen Chong said with a smile.
This "fifth level" he mentioned was part of a system he and Wang Biao had devised yesterday out of boredom, right after Chen Chong had used his Comprehensive Enhancement Card.
The two of them had divided unarmed normal people into five levels.
The first level consisted of frail women and men who were utterly weak.
The second level was physically average men who had a decent amount of strength.
Their combat ability was average; their limit was usually taking on one, or at most two, regular people at once.
Xu Jun fell into this category, though his physical conditioning was better than average—he was likely at the very top of the second tier.
Chen Chong estimated that he had been in this same tier before using the Comprehensive Enhancement Card.
The third level was for those who kept up with fitness and exercise, people with superior physical conditioning.
They possessed decent strength, excellent speed, and agile reflexes, among other things.
You could count on one hand the number of students in the entire school who could reach this level...
People in the fourth level had extremely strong physiques, their power far surpassing most normal people. Taking on multiple opponents at once was no issue for them.
Wang Biao was in this category, as was Jia Wen. However, Jia Wen wasn’t as strong as Wang Biao and was probably at the bottom of the tier.
Of course, it would be a different story if Jia Wen had a weapon, but this ranking system was only for unarmed combat.
After using the Comprehensive Enhancement Card, Chen Chong estimated he was probably in this tier as well—in fact, with his all-around enhancement, he was likely at the very top of it.
The fifth level was where things got ridiculous.
Their physical fitness and various abilities could no longer be described as just "strong"; they were at the absolute peak of what a normal human could achieve.
Whether it was strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, or even physical toughness, they had reached the limits of humanity!
Clearly, after his power enhancement, Wang Biao had achieved this in at least one category.
Even if he hadn’t completely crossed this threshold, he was close...
As for those who surpassed the five levels, they could no longer be described as normal people.
Chen Chong thought that if people like that really existed, they were basically no different from Extraordinary Creatures.
They could hunt creatures like the Unihorn Catfish, Blood-tooth Python, and Stone Claw Eagle without needing traps, just charging in with a weapon.
He hadn’t seen anyone like that yet... but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t in the future.
When it came to this five-level system, Chen Chong felt that, strictly speaking, he didn’t even belong in it.
After all, besides the enhancements to all aspects of his body, he also had abilities like Beastial Instinct and Water Mastery.
This five-level combat ranking for normal humans was just something they had come up with for fun, but it still served as a decent reference.
Of course, it didn’t account for those with special abilities, like Chen Chong himself.
After experiencing the benefits of the Enhancement Card, Chen Chong now knew what a great thing it was.
’It would be great if I could get more of these in the future.’
Not only could he raise his own physical abilities to a whole new level, but he could also elevate the combat strength of Wang Biao, Xu Jun, and Jia Wen.
Then, even with a small team, their combined combat power would far surpass that of dozens, or even hundreds, of people.
When facing Extraordinary Creatures, they would have more confidence and a greater chance of success...
"Sir, the food is ready!"
Jia Wen, who had been busy in the kitchen for a good while, finally emerged carrying a pot.
The same familiar smell.
Wolf stew!
Fortunately, he’d added plenty of seasonings, so the flavor was rich enough that they wouldn’t get tired of eating the same thing every day...
Xu Jun also woke up. After a quick wash, the group gathered around the dining table and started to eat.
Just then, a knock came from the door...
...