Time rewound to dusk, and by then, all the scabs from Bai Yi's wounds had fallen off, and the soreness in his muscles had vanished without a trace.
[Strength: 4] [Spirit: 9.1] [Constitution: 4]
These were Bai Yi's current attributes. He then activated his talent.
"Activate!"
[Steel-Spine Will activated, Sanity -95, current Sanity 5/100, gain 2.75 times amplification]
[Warning! Your Sanity is below 10, you have fallen into Permanent Madness, you have entered Cognitive Distortion]
[Exemption granted]
The familiar intense pain was something Bai Yi found himself getting used to. He opened the panel.
[Strength: 10/4] [Spirit: 9.1] [Constitution: 10/4]
"With a 2.75 times amplification, Strength and Constitution should have increased to 11, but they are only at 10. Is it because I've reached the human limit?"
Bai Yi analyzed, finding it difficult to describe this feeling.
It was as if the world had become clearer; the fine textures on trees eight meters away were now crystal clear to Bai Yi.
His ears sharply caught various subtle sounds around him: the creak of the wind against the door, the faint rustle of leaves falling to the ground, and the slight swaying of branches.
His sense of smell was also enhanced, detecting the faint mustiness from the decaying leaves on the ground, the blood scent near the shelter, and the mix of his own sweat and blood.
"So, the scent differences between different animal bloods are this distinct."
The most noticeable change for Bai Yi was in his brain. His vision, taste, hearing, and smell were all being constantly collected, rapidly analyzed, and organized by his brain, which then relayed useful information.
Bai Yi took a deep breath, shifting his focus to his body. He felt brimming with power and approached a tree to test his jump.
Without any preparation, just a simple squat and jump, Bai Yi easily reached a branch nearly four meters off the ground.
Hanging there, he released his left hand, then his right thumb, index finger, middle finger, and ring finger, finally supporting his entire body weight with just his little finger.
After doing ten pull-ups with two fingers, he used one hand to pull himself up entirely, standing steadily on the branch.
One foot, jumping, with exceptional balance.
Leaping down from the branch without any effort to cushion the fall, just a slight bend of the knees.
Bai Yi stood up, feeling his knees, with no unusual sensation. The nearly four-meter drop hadn't caused any damage to his knees.
Next was speed. Bai Yi set two points, approximately 200 meters round trip. Based on his heartbeat, he estimated the time: 18 seconds. This included deceleration, turning, and re-accelerating.
Too fast!
A large part of this was due to Bai Yi's exceptional control over his body. He could reach his maximum speed within two seconds of starting, with a very short acceleration phase.
Then came strength. Bai Yi returned indoors, taking out the Wolf King's head, initially intended to hang on the door as a talisman, but it served just as well for testing.
After securing the wolf head, Bai Yi threw a powerful punch, producing a crisp sound from the Wolf King's skull.
"Crack!"
Hearing the sound, Bai Yi quickly withheld his second punch, as testing materials were scarce, and breaking them would prevent further tests.
Standing firm again, Bai Yi delivered a forceful elbow strike, shattering the Wolf King's skull, his elbow piercing into the head, brain matter splattering.
Satisfied, Bai Yi retracted his elbow, then gleefully brought out the other two wolf heads.
Spinning elbow! High kick! Flying knee!
[Steel-Spine Will effect ended, Sanity restored 100/100]
With the talent effect cooling down, Bai Yi looked at the three battered, unrecognizable wolf heads, took a photo with his journal for posterity, and left contentedly.
...
Time returned to the present.
Bai Yi was excited. After that, he browsed the forum and found no mention of attributes ceasing to grow beyond 10, suggesting no one had yet reached this threshold.
"If I had Spirit Rice, I could break through the limit of 10..."
His excitement quickly subsided, and sanity regained control.
"Coincidentally, if Spirit Rice exists, there must be other things that can help me break limits. The absence of them now might be due to unmet conditions. It seems I'll need to keep an eye on the Trading Plaza."
With that thought, Bai Yi sat back down. Wang Ziyi was crucial; she must not die.
But the problem was, he couldn't protect her. If she died while gathering materials, Bai Yi's closest path to becoming stronger would vanish, and he'd have to start searching anew.
With that thought, Bai Yi opened his journal...
...
Meanwhile, in a well-appointed villa, Wang Ziyi was curled up in a cotton blanket, clutching her journal.
She was passionately speaking in a chat group.
"Wang Ziyi: I met a big shot!!!"
"Xie Xu: Another big shot? How many big shots have you met today!"
"Wang Ziyi: Hmph, none of your business!"
"Xie Xu: None of your business~"
"Wang Ziyi: I'm not in the mood to argue with you, Uncle Zhang? Uncle Zhang? Are you there, come out!"
"Wang Ziyi: Uncle Zhang, should we try to bring him in? He single-handedly took on 11 wolves, killed 9, and 2 ran away. Such combat power is exactly what we're missing, isn't it?"
"Zhang Zhen: Little Wang, I'm exercising right now, don't get too excited. How do you know he's telling the truth? Do you have screenshots?"
Oh right, Wang Ziyi's joyful expression froze.
"Wang Ziyi: No, but he shouldn't be lying to me..."
"Li Zihua: Sister Wang, even if you have screenshots, would you invite him without asking anything? Would he agree?"
"Xie Xu: Exactly, even if he's that strong, can you be sure of his character? Remember, the next stage is..."
"Zhang Zhen: Alright, alright, everyone, say less. Little Wang means well. Our team lacks combat personnel, despite having sufficient logistics. Everyone is troubled by this, and Little Wang has been scouring the forum all day."
"Wang Ziyi: Everyone has helped me so much, upgrading the shelter and providing seeds. I don't want to take these favors for granted; I want to contribute too."
Seeing everyone refuting her, she burrowed into her blanket.
"Xie Xu: Why so quiet? Not crying under the covers again, are you?"
"Wang Ziyi: If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"
"Xie Xu: Enough joking, let's talk business. We all know each other's talents. While they're not one in a billion, they're at least one in a million, though they're all functional types.
Adding a combat member is indeed important, but it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. Our capabilities are also formidable to him. So there's no need to grovel; that would only demean us." This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.
"Zhang Zhen: Exactly!"
"Wei Fen: That's right, Little Wang, your care for the plants hasn't gone unnoticed. No one will blame you."
"Wang Ziyi: Hmph, even a dog's mouth can spit ivory."
Reading the group's messages, Wang Ziyi forced a smile.
Luckily, she met them; otherwise, she might have starved to death in that thatched hut!
Just then, her journal vibrated. Wang Ziyi opened it to see a message from the "big shot."
"Bai Yi: Your talent is very important, and special plants are also what I need. We can deepen our cooperation."
"Wang Ziyi: No problem! By the way, do you have pictures of the wolves? Wolves, I've never seen one..."
Bai Yi shook his head with a smile, thinking she probably didn't believe him and was testing him!
He raised his journal, took a picture of the array of jerky, sent it over, and after a moment's thought, sent the three wolf heads as well.
"Bai Yi: (Jerky)"
"Bai Yi: (Wolf Heads)"
"Bai Yi: I was injured, so I only brought back three wolves. They've all been processed. Once the meat dries, I'll send you a piece to try."
Seeing the abundance of jerky, Wang Ziyi's mind buzzed. Although she had anticipated it, the confirmation still excited her, "If he joins us..."
"Eh? Wait, is this... a wolf head?"
Wang Ziyi scrutinized the second picture, unable to discern any wolf likeness.
"Wang Ziyi: Big shot, is the second picture a wolf head?"
"Bai Yi: Yes, it was from training."
Training? Beating?
Wang Ziyi was petrified under her covers. So brutal? Even desecrating the corpse?
"Looks like that dog Xie had a point. Confirming character, no rush, no rush, let's see..."
Muttering to herself, Wang Ziyi forwarded the images and text to the group.
...
The group chat fell silent.
After a while, a message popped up:
"Zhang Zhen: Ahem, Little Wang, keep in touch with him. If you can get him to join us, that would be best."
"Wang Ziyi: Huh? Uncle Zhang, what if he doesn't want to?"
"Xie Xu: What's his name?"
"Wang Ziyi: Lone Wolf."
"Xie Xu: You can trade that information, I have no objections."
Reading this, Wang Ziyi's body trembled. She knew her partners were intrigued.