Chapter 155: Chapter 131: The Essence of Pollution! Radiation Filter
’Instead, I should show it some goodwill, reveal my own value, and then maybe... get it to rescue me?’
Chu Bamboo said nothing, continuing his arduous Cultivation.
The Two-headed Scale Person grew visibly anxious. He spoke rapidly, "Except for on that high platform, any living being on the ground will be contaminated! Normal people will turn into monsters, and monsters will become even more grotesque! Your sanity will gradually fade... Even those guys in the Flying Fish Suits can’t stay on the ground for more than three minutes at a time!"
"That’s why they always come in a big group and take turns! To do the harvesting!"
"I really do want you to save me, so I can’t just watch you get contaminated. If you go crazy in here, I’ll have no hope of ever getting out... Trust me! I wouldn’t lie to you about this... I swear."
Chu Bamboo’s movements paused for a moment before returning to normal. He continued to operate his Cultivation Method with all his might, suppressing the pain while he thought seriously.
’I see...’
A flicker of understanding crossed Chu Bamboo’s eyes. He finally had a more detailed grasp of the situation.
’This really is a nuclear reaction facility!’
’But this nuclear facility doesn’t seem to be just for generating power. Or rather, I don’t know what its purpose is in the Real World, but in this dream civilization—have the natives of this dream simply turned it into a tool for spreading high-intensity, uniform nuclear radiation throughout this hall?’
’And it seems the only place to be exempt is on that high platform!’
Countless creatures, monsters—Chu Bamboo wasn’t sure if they were non-human races or Transcendents who had lost control—were chained here, absorbing nuclear radiation. Then, every seven days, the Captain’s Office would come to harvest their blood.
The dead monsters were dissected, and the Radiant Stones were extracted from their bodies.
’No wonder!’
’No wonder...’
Chu Bamboo had always found one thing strange. If this era allowed for cultivation through radiation, why had it never been possible in the past?
He used to think it was because they lacked Moon Grass. But now, he understood.
’Even if I had successfully harvested the Moon Grass and continued my Cultivation, the final result would have probably been terrible...’
’Who the hell knew that the resources for Cultivation had to be filtered through the bodies of monsters—or living creatures—first?’
’After being filtered through these living bodies, which act as massive filters, their radiation-rich blood, and even the cores that condense from it, still contain some contamination. But that contamination has clearly been reduced to a tolerable level!’
’This is too Hellish! Too dark.’
Chu Bamboo felt a strange urge to laugh. So... all the resources consumed for cultivation were essentially elixirs made from living beings.
He felt a wave of disillusionment, a sense of melancholy. He wanted to laugh, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.
Of course, he had no intention of listening to the Two-headed Scale Person and climbing back up.
’The logic is very simple. If I really get contaminated and lose control, I can just reset. My experiments in the nuclear reaction pool have already confirmed that resetting erases all contamination and mental strain!’
Finally.
Chu Bamboo finished completely absorbing the pale-gold Radiant Stone.
He rose to his feet, his expression unchanged. Though a stinging pain still radiated from all over his body, it didn’t stop him from walking toward the next weakened monster, testing its strength, and then slaying it to obtain its Radiant Stone.
"...Why are you doing this to yourself?! You probably just want to get stronger, and I know how to do that! My mind is filled with valuable information. We can cooperate as equals! Wouldn’t that be better?" The left head of the Two-headed Scale Person couldn’t stay still any longer. It flicked its forked tongue and spoke with a hoarse voice.
If Chu Bamboo had already climbed onto the high platform, it could have casually tossed out some information to bait him, wait until his curiosity was piqued, and then start negotiating.
But if Chu Bamboo died or went mad, it would be trapped in this bottomless, hellish abyss, waiting for a death that, while still some time away, was ultimately inevitable.
"...Are you human?" Chu Bamboo suddenly asked. Of course, he didn’t stop his Cultivation.
With the main gate still open, his attitude toward Cultivation was to race against time.
"...I guess so," the Two-headed Scale Person said after a long silence, its voice filled with complex emotions.
"Then are they all human too?" The monster Chu Bamboo had just killed was only half a meter tall, with a hunched body, resembling a bird-like beast. He’d targeted it mainly because its small size suggested it wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with.
This time, the Two-headed Scale Person didn’t answer immediately.
Chu Bamboo seemed to have his answer. He nodded and muttered, ’I see! So humans are only a portion of them... which means that Transcendents aren’t exclusively human? Other creatures can also become Extraordinary using this method?’
The Two-headed Scale Person was horrified. ’Wait, I was just silent for a moment, and you managed to deduce all that?’
"I have one more question. If staying here too long makes you lose your sanity... how long have you been here? And why can you still talk to me normally?" Chu Bamboo continued to ask.
"...That!" The Two-headed Scale Person looked hesitant. Before it could decide whether to answer or just make something up, it saw Chu Bamboo once again sink into a deep state of Cultivation.
"..."
’Wait, does this kid even care about the answer?’
’Also, did I forget something?’
After observing Chu Bamboo for a while, a delayed realization struck the Two-headed Scale Person. Its expression changed drastically as it finally understood what was wrong.
Its two heads spoke almost simultaneously.
"How are you absorbing it so fast..."
"Are you insane? Didn’t your elders ever tell you that you can only absorb a minuscule amount of a Radiant Stone each day?!"
The two heads glanced at each other, both clearly frantic. They began speaking one after the other, their words firing like a machine gun.
"The amount of Radiant Stone Energy you absorbed from the first Pig Feather Person... was already way over the limit!"
"Why are you doing this?! If you want to die, you could just kill yourself outside! Why do it like this..."
"Stop! At this rate, with the contamination on top of it all... you won’t last two minutes! No, your time is almost up! I’m begging you. Get on the platform! Now!"
However, Chu Bamboo continued to do as he pleased.
He was completely immersed in the bizarre sensation of his body wracked with intense pain while his Spiritual Power swelled continuously.
At that moment, he felt as if his body and spirit had been severed into two separate, parallel entities.
The euphoria of his spirit and the agony of his flesh collided violently.
"Hm?" On a whim, Chu Bamboo suddenly opened his eyes, a look of understanding dawning in them. ’So that’s it. No wonder Zhang Hai said... "You’ll know when the time comes"!’
The next moment, Chu Bamboo began his breakthrough without hesitation. He could feel that he had accumulated power up to a certain limit...
He felt his soul on the verge of leaving his body.
’Great, I did it! I fucking did... Huh?’
Chu Bamboo’s breath caught, and a dazed look appeared in his eyes. ’Wait, do I normally use profanity like that?’
The next moment, the realization dawned on him. He dazedly lowered his head to stare at his skin, and his pupils contracted sharply—
Dense fish scales were pushing their way out from deep within his skin.
An unimaginable itch almost made him lose control, making him want to desperately claw at his own skin.
’I see, I’ve lost control... but this time, it feels different from the last time...’ Chu Bamboo analyzed calmly. ’Is it because I died too cleanly before?’
Nearby, the Two-headed Scale Person, whose eyes showed disappointment and even despair: "?"
’What the hell? Wait a minute... What the hell are you talking about?!’
Before the stunned Two-headed Scale Person could voice its confusion, Chu Bamboo closed his eyes.
Then...
Time began to reverse!
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