Chapter 128: The Morning Exercise Squad Returns to Action, "Fake Medicine"

Just a few minutes later, Zheng Tian and her team members entered the villa and stepped into the living room.

This was a citizen's private residence.

Normally, within the white walls lay a forbidden zone that ordinary wastelanders could not easily trespass upon.

It was not the first time Zheng Tian and her crew had crossed the white walls, but it was their first time entering a citizen's villa.

An exquisite little villa, alloy walls, beautiful greenery. Hidden among the foliage and the delicate structures ornamenting the courtyard were automated weapon muzzle tips, rocket launcher ports, concealed flying mine launchers, and various other forms of firepower. All of this naturally imposed an invisible pressure of hierarchy upon wastelanders.

This was not the third-generation Iron Curtain, but without a doubt, its performance was definitely superior.

Perhaps only a peculiar individual like Ren Zhong could remain completely free of any oppressive feeling upon entering such a place for the very first time.

At this moment, everyone was more or less nervous, daring only to widen their eyes and look around. Each person kept their hands pressed tightly against their respective torsos.

In the study of body language, this collective posture was known as being "constrained."

Ju Qingmeng did not come downstairs to greet them, nor did anyone dare to wander around blindly.

Ren Zhong cast a puzzled look toward Ju Qingmeng, only to see her blink mischievously and say softly, "Turn on the living room surveillance."

A flash of light appeared right in front of the bed in the bedroom, clearly projecting the scene unfolding in the living room—it was the flustered group of people.

Aside from the five members of Zheng Tian's team, Yu Jin had also arrived.

With varying reactions, the group huddled together to consult with one another.

Ren Zhong had not informed them in advance about this operation.

Hearing such terrifying news so abruptly, tension was inevitable.

Wen Lei anxiously scratched the back of his head. "Could something really have happened to Mr. Ren?"

Zheng Tian shook her head. "Probably not. Brother Ren is someone who thinks everything through before he acts."

Ou Youning, that blockhead, was only concerned with inspecting the room's furnishings from top to bottom, exclaiming, "This house is so pretty! If only we could live in a place like this."

Zheng Tian slapped the back of Ou Youning's head hard. "Can't the second-generation Iron Curtain we just installed shut your mouth? Brother Ren is injured this badly, and this is what you're thinking about right now?"

Ou Youning aggrievedly clutched his head. "What's the use of worrying? It's not like you guys don't know Brother Ren. When has he ever taken a loss? Lin望's little clever tricks aren't even worthy of carrying Brother Ren's shoes. I bet a hundred points, right now Brother Ren is definitely kicking and full of life."

Chen Hangyu remained silent throughout the entire exchange.

Like Yu Jin, as a member of the night team, she had heard Ren Zhong mention things about the abandoned mine pit.

Both of them had a gut feeling: that place couldn't hold him back.

Over in the bedroom, Ren Zhong, who had been secretly observing everyone's reactions via the projection, wore a smiling expression and commented, "Even though this guy Ou Youning's brain doesn't work right sometimes, his intuition is inexplicably accurate. Zheng Tian just likes to overthink things when she encounters situations, otherwise she would have realized it long ago."

Ju Qingmeng nodded. "The companions you found in the town are indeed the right choices. If it weren't for the suppression by Spark Resources and the professional teams, and the fact that they had access to too few resources in the past, these people should have all advanced to Tier 2 professionals by now."

Downstairs, after listening to Ou Youning's analysis, Zheng Tian thought about it and said, "That's true as well. Then why hasn't he come down to see us? We've been here for two or three minutes already."

Ou Youning shrugged. "Need you ask? Brother Ren is faking an injury right now. Where should a wounded person be?"

Before anyone else could chime in, Ou Youning answered his own question. "In bed, of course! So the question is, what is a bed used for? Hehehe... With Brother Ren's physical stamina, at the very least we'll have to wait..."

Thwack!

Ju Qingmeng turned off the projection.

She didn't even flush or turn red in the neck; she simply stood up and said, "The others are fine, but I suggest you kick this guy with pockets all over."

Ren Zhong agreed with this sentiment.

Ju Qingmeng quickly went downstairs. Without being truly angry, she simply gave a brief greeting and told everyone to go upstairs on their own to see Ren Zhong in the study on the left side of the stairway landing.

As for herself, she hurried off to the arms mall.

What awaited her there was not regular work, but Ren Zhong's armor.

After some conventional pleasantries, Ren Zhong reviewed everyone's equipment status with them once more and laid out their daytime hunting routes for the next ten days. He told everyone not to be afraid of breaking equipment, not to worry about wasting ammunition, and not to hunt for the sake of harvest, but rather to focus on maximizing their combat effectiveness to the ultimate limit.

Subsequently, he transferred one hundred and fifty thousand and thirty thousand points (after tax) to Zheng Tian and Yu Jin respectively, leaving only one hundred and three thousand points for himself.

His major expenses had basically been settled, and there were no upcoming occasions requiring large sums of money. Keeping the points idle would just make them a useless number, so it was better to put them to good use by investing in his core team and further accelerating their growth.

As for how to repay Ma Xiaoling's investment funds, that could be discussed later.

Zheng Tian accepted the points matter-of-factly. Yu Jin's lips trembled as if he wanted to refuse, but remembering Ren Zhong's temperament, he closed his mouth.

Once the serious business was wrapped up, Ren Zhong dismissed the others, leaving only Chen Hangyu behind.

Ou Youning opened his mouth, ready to court death with another inappropriate remark.

Wen Lei directly clapped a hand over Ou Youning's mouth from behind and dragged him out, muffled groans and all.

Without waiting for Ren Zhong to give instructions, Chen Hangyu took off her backpack and retrieved the Tier 3 dismantling specialist gloves she had recently acquired. "Mr. Ren, what kind of appearance do you want to give yourself?"

"As haggard as possible. Ideally looking less than human."

Chen Hangyu hummed in acknowledgment. "I understand."

She pulled over a stool, sat down steadily, and then slowly raised both hands, pressing them gently against Ren Zhong's face.

A buzzing electric current emitted from the gloves on her hands, and faint, intricate halos of light flickered and pulsed.

"It will be a little itchy, but Mr. Ren, you'll have to endure it."

Ten minutes later, Ren Zhong looked in the mirror.

Hiss!

This was the kind of look where if you lay down at a hospital entrance, the doctor wouldn't even bother checking your heartbeat and would send you straight to the morgue.

This craftsmanship was peerless; the top cosmetic techniques of the world would have to kneel in defeat.

Ren Zhong gave a thumbs-up. "Impressive."

As he spoke, he rubbed his face. There was a slight soreness, but the discomfort was rapidly dissipating.

"How long can this last? Are there any side effects?"

Ju Qingmeng carefully packed the gloves back into the equipment maintenance case as she replied, "No side effects, but it only lasts for about a day and a half. I usually reinforce it once a day myself."

"That's quite convenient then. Perfect. Starting tomorrow, our dawn hunting sessions resume. Notify the others: sleep at eight every night, and drive the Qingfeng heavy truck to the white wall main gate at four in the morning to wait for me."

"Ah? Where are we going to hunt?"

"I'm taking you into the abandoned mine pit."

"Is Yu Jin going too?"

"He's not."

"Understood. Got it. If there's nothing else, I'll head out first?"

Ren Zhong said, "Wait, I need to discuss something with you in advance. As soon as we get off the truck, I will carry you on my back. We can only leave five sets of footprints. Also, take this diagram and give it to Wen Lei; tell him to burn it immediately after memorizing it. Have him make some magnetic components according to the design I drew and put them in the truck bed. Every time we drive to the abandoned mine pit and before we land, we must attach these magnetic parts to the heavy truck's chassis to allow the vehicle to descend. Once we take off again, we must immediately remove all of them."

"Ah?" Chen Hangyu looked slightly surprised.

However, she did not question him, simply nodding. "Alright. I understand."

At dusk, Lin Wang indeed came to visit Ren Zhong, and then left with a gloomy face.

Not long after, rumors began to circulate in the town once again.

Lin Wang's team was expanding its recruitment range. Aside from demolition specialists and augmented warriors, they were now looking to add a mecha warrior as a reserve member. As long as they reached Tier 3, Lin Wang would welcome them with open arms.

Ju Qingmeng, who had returned home after eating dinner and pulling overtime at the mall, came back at nine-thirty at night. Seeing Ren Zhong sleeping soundly and punctually as of eight o'clock, she couldn't help but laugh continuously.

Lin Wang had really been fooled thoroughly.

Afterward, she left a note on the bedside table, went to the guest bedroom, and went to sleep fully clothed.

The note read: "The exoskeleton's power system has been successfully modified and is ready for use. I had Zheng Tian drive the other Qingfeng heavy truck over to pick it up."

The night passed quietly.

The next day, 4:00 AM.

The morning training team, which had been idle for quite some time, set out once again, heading straight for the abandoned mine pit.

Have you ever witnessed the starlight of 4:00 AM?

This was it.

Along the way, Zheng Tian voiced her concerns. "Mr. Ren, our biological clocks haven't been adjusted drastically, but they've been disrupted by two hours nonetheless. Over a long period, I'm afraid..."

"Ten days. Stick with it for ten days."

"Understood."

During those two hours, the souls claimed by the morning training team's blades were no longer the stray cats and dogs of the past, but Tier 3 and Tier 4 Void Beasts from the abandoned mine pit.

Lin Wang had once flaunted his hunting route map to Ren Zhong.

Little did he know that Ren Zhong didn't care at all for his tightly guarded little secrets.

When it came to understanding the abandoned mine pit, if Ren Zhong claimed to be second, no one would dare claim first.

Throughout this operation, Ren Zhong carried Chen Hangyu on his back almost the entire time. Even when combat required him to put her down, he instructed her to stay put and not move around.

Every time they killed a Void Beast, he would return to pick Chen Hangyu up, carry her to the beast's carcass, and carefully wipe away her footprints at the same time.

In addition to this, after every completed hunt, Ren Zhong deliberately instructed the group to manufacture some extra traces of battle—especially Wen Lei's giant shield, which was used almost like a stamping steel seal.

Zheng Tian analyzed the situation inwardly.

Five sets of footprints in total: two mecha warriors, three sets of shoe prints.

As she looked at the battle relics that had been deliberately crafted to look entirely natural, she gradually understood.

Not only that, Ren Zhong had explicitly instructed that regardless of how valuable a Void Beast's carcass was, they were to leave it all behind and take only the crystal chips.

These crystal chips could not be sold for the time being and had to be stored.

Even if leaving them in the storage case for too long meant taking a loss in value, there was no other way.

The core objective of this hunt wasn't to get rich; it was intense training for the team, alongside other deeper, underlying goals.

At 5:50 in the morning, the Qingfeng heavy truck, its cargo bed completely empty, quietly drove back into the town and parked directly inside the enclosed parking space.

Ren Zhong climbed onto the Benlei vehicle parked in the same bay and had Zheng Tian drive him back to Ju Qingmeng's villa.

At 8:30 in the morning, Sun Miao huffed and puffed as he appeared outside the villa door carrying a large medical kit.

At 9:00 AM, Sun Miao picked up the syringe and slowly stood up. "Are you sure? You're not changing your mind?"

"No. Let's do it, Brother Sun."

"Wait, I'm still nervous. I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"I'm scared no one will lead me in stock trading from now on. This dosage is truly terrifying, Ren Zhong, you better think it over again. Once it's injected, excruciating pain will erupt all over your body. Nerve blockers are useless against this kind of terrifying pain; you could even say it acts directly on every single cell in your body. It's way more vicious than that cancer you had back then. If you can't bear it, it will trigger shock and lead to death. Even shooting you up with adrenaline won't help. Ordinary doses of star-source injection liquid already have a certain fatality rate, but your concentration is just too..."

"Brother Sun, since when did you become so naggy and timid?"

"Damn it."

"Come on! Do it! Don't let your hand shake, Brother Sun! The needle is crooked! Let's go!"

Finally, the oversized dose of star-source injection liquid was slowly pushed into Ren Zhong's veins.

Afterward, the two of them sat facing each other, exchanging wide-eyed stares.

Waiting for the verdict of fate.

Half an hour later...

The silence that had lasted for a full half hour was finally broken.

Breaking the silence was a low, thunder-like rumbling sound echoing from Ren Zhong's stomach.

"Brother Sun, didn't you say there would be excruciating pain? How come I don't feel anything? Did your medicine go bad? Is it a counterfeit product? Are you actually just a quack doctor selling fake medicine and bluffing?"

Sun Miao flew into a rage. "Damn you! How could there be a problem! I ran validity assays on the active ingredients!"

Ren Zhong spread his hands. "Then how do you explain this?"

Sun Miao: "How do I explain this?"

The atmosphere became intensely awkward for a moment.

Ren Zhong was speechless.

After doing so much psychological preparation, thinking he was going to die a hundred deaths and suffer a fate worse than death, the result was...

Just this?

"Brother Sun, I'm a little hungry."

"Wait, I'll draw a tube of hungry-blood for you."

Five minutes later, the portable blood test analyzer provided feedback.

Sun Miao scratched his head vigorously. "That's not right. It took effect. This shouldn't happen."

As the two of them were chatting, Ju Qingmeng, who had temporarily skipped work, also returned.

She brought Ren Zhong two large boxes of high-absorption nutritional meals.

Just in time, Ren Zhong was starving, so he eagerly wolfed down the food.

Watching Ren Zhong devour the meal ravenously, Ju Qingmeng turned back to Sun Miao in confusion. "Dr. Sun, has the medicine been administered?"

Sun Miao spread his hands. "Administered!"

Ju Qingmeng: "I checked the data on star-source injection liquid beforehand, and these shouldn't be the symptoms after injection."

Sun Miao: "I don't know either! My mind is blown. This isn't scientific!"

Ju Qingmeng ultimately delivered the perfect concluding remark, "Perhaps this is what you call an unreasonable talent?"

Ren Zhong pulled his face out of the bowl and gave a thumbs-up. "Well said!"

He then cast a disdainful look of contempt at Sun Miao. "What do you know about science?"

Sun Miao was infuriated by his arrogant attitude of treating him differently before and after the medicine.

Before the treatment: "Brother Sun is awesome." After the treatment: "What science?"

It was painfully, realistically human!

However, Sun Miao didn't storm off; he couldn't be sure whether Ren Zhong's reaction was absent or simply delayed.

It wasn't until noon, after Ren Zhong had finished off two large boxes of nutritional meals and his hunger had slightly subsided, that Sun Miao gave him a full physical checkup with the portable medical device. Confirming that aside from sporting a corpse-like complexion, everything else about him was indeed completely normal, he finally settled down.

"Normally, I could roughly estimate your attribute growth based on the intensity of your pain flare-ups. Now I haven't got a clue. You've completely baffled me."

Sun Miao scratched his hair frantically.

Ren Zhong laughed cheerfully. "Doesn't matter. Whatever growth I get, I take."

"Then you'd better step up your physical training. The harder you train, the faster the medicine's potency is digested."