Chapter 170: Abandoned Site

Chang Ba was even more excited than Chen Chuan, because it meant that Chen Chuan could move to the hardest part of the training.

While Chang Ba had summoned enough courage to try out the other parts of the training, he was too daunted by the last stage.

Before this, he thought that no one in the First or Second Limit could possibly clear that stage, but after seeing Chen Chuan’s performance, hope rose in him. Perhaps Chen Chuan could actually complete that part of the training.

Chen Chuan was slowly reining in the emotions stirring in his heart. With a smile, he asked, “Mr. He, can we head to the next stage of the training?”

When He Xiaoxing saw Chen Chuan’s smile, he suddenly fell silent. For an instant, he thought he saw the shadow of his student. Then, he turned to face the building behind the barbed wire.

“The next part will be held over there.”

Chen Chuan looked over as well. He had been curious about that place from the moment they came.

“What is it?”

Chang Ba walked over and answered him. “It was a marine biology research center. The researchers set up the barbed wire around the place. My grandfather said that whoever came here to conduct marine biology research belonged in a mental asylum.

“Those guys left later, but the fish and some of the aquatic life they kept inside had all mutated. How should I put this? Hm... They’ve become really violent. Fortunately, they’re highly dependent on the living environment inside the research center to survive. Although the underground water connects to the outside, they’ve never left, even after so many years have passed.”

Chen Chuan realized what was about to happen. He asked, “So, am I going to swim underwater into the research center next?”

“That’s not all. You’ll also have to grab all the signs Uncle He throws down within a set time.” Chang Ba turned to He Xiaoxing. “Isn’t that so, Uncle He?”

“I must warn you that while the steps appear similar, the danger is much greater than what you faced before. Think about it. You don’t actually have to complete the next part of the training,” He Xiaoxing said gravely as he stared at Chen Chuan.

“Since I’m already here, I’d like to try,” Chen Chuan said while staring ahead.

He wasn’t the type to take risks unless it was completely necessary, but training was important. It might help him improve even further. Besides, he had his second self to cover for him, so he didn’t need to be scared.

“Chen Chuan, if you manage to pass this stage too, you’ll get to stay and eat in the town for free for life!” Chang Ba declared while looking straight into Chen Chuan’s eyes.

“I won’t say no to that,” Chen Chuan shot back with a grin.

After some thinking, he spoke up again. “You said that the fish here are really violent. How violent are they, exactly?”

When it came to unfamiliar things, Chen Chuan preferred to do his homework before fighting. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a training session, but just him pushing himself to the brink.

“You want to know? Easy.” Chang Ba returned to the SUV and took out a custom-made landing net, along with a lead bucket. He ran over and declared, “Watch me.”

In about fifteen minutes, Chang Ba came back with the landing net slung over his shoulder and the bucket in one hand. He set the bucket down in front of the two of them with such fine control over his strength that not a single drop of water spilled out.

Chen Chuan saw three fish in the bucket. The two black ones had something resembling a shell around their heads, which made them appear really tough, while the last small one was red. Its mouth was packed with razor-sharp teeth, and it looked blatantly different from normal fish.

“The two large ones are known as black carp; we called them bumper fish when we were kids. The small one is red-scaled carp, though people usually call it the crimson-eyed man-eating fish. The black carp moves with great agility and has a tough head. I saw this thing being swept out of the research center by a rapid current before, and it shattered a rock to pieces. If it crashes into you while underwater, it’ll feel the same as being hit by a large hammer.

“The man-eating fish is self-explanatory. It can tear off your flesh. You may be able to fend off a few of them, but if you see a whole school, stay as far away from them as you can. These are not the only strange fish in the research center, though. I’ll tell you more later.”

“Bring the fish along. We’re going in,” He Xiaoxing said.

“Sure thing.”

The three of them got into the SUV, and Chang Ba drove into the research center’s territory.

While the barbed wire could ward off normal people, it did nothing to them. Judging by the large number of tears, a lot of people had trespassed before.

After they got in, Chen Chuan cast a glance at the metal sign fallen to the side. Thanks to the climate, the words on the sign had not faded. They were foreign, so some other country had to have owned the research center.

“When was the research center built?” he asked.

Chang Ba thought about it. “Around sixty years ago? It was already around during my grandfather’s time. When my dad was a kid, it was already abandoned. It’s been here for decades.”

They traveled forward for another kilometer or so before a building appeared before their eyes. There were shell craters on it.

“The research center was built to last. It’s been decades since it was abandoned, but it’s still standing, though everything inside has already been stolen. A group of bandits holed themselves in there more than twenty years ago, so my dad got together with the townsfolk and contacted a group of martial artists to get rid of all of them. Now, only a handful of people know about this place.”

Chang Ba parked the SUV in front of the building. Once they got out, He Xiaoxing instructed him, “Go and roast the fish.”

Then, he said to Chen Chuan, “Eat the fish before diving inside.”

“Okay,” Chang Ba agreed and quickly grabbed all sorts of knives and kitchen tools from the SUV. He gutted the fish, removed their organs, and descaled them on the spot, then brought out the barbecue stand and put the three fish on it.

Soon, he finished barbecuing them and put seasoning on them before handing He Xiaoxing and Chen Chuan a fish each.

“Try it. Hehe, it’s a rare delicacy. The average person can’t ever get a taste of it. Only us martial artists can eat it.”

Chen Chuan bit down and felt a numbing sensation on his tongue, as if he had bitten down on a spicy pepper. It blended perfectly with the roasted skin and the meat underneath. The fish had tender flesh and hardly any bones, so it was really crispy after being barbecued. He could eat it without deboning. In a few bites, he finished the entire thing.

When he was done, he felt a warmth all over his body. The energy he gained could rival what he got from nutritional paste. “This is great stuff.”

Even though his second self blurred out a little, that bit of harm was inconsequential.

“The fish here provide a lot of nutrients, though they carry a bit of toxin. It’s nothing to martial artists, so you don’t have to expel it right away. If you’re surrounded by the fish and feel like you can’t fight them off, expel the toxin. They’ll stop attacking right away.

“But you have to pay attention, because other fish will start targeting you due to that,” He Xiaoxing said.

“We still wonder what exactly their research had been. Some of the townsfolk theorized whether they were really just breeding a new brand of edible fish. But the average person can’t enjoy this delicacy because of the toxin. Still, we lucked out. After I picked up the basics of my first breathing technique, my dad often brought me here to have a grand feast fit for kings,” Chang Ba shared.

“Could you tell me about the other fish?” Chen Chuan asked.

“One second.”

Chang Ba grabbed a pen and a notebook, then started drawing and explaining each type of fish and its characteristics. Chen Chuan hadn’t been able to tell before, but Chang Ba was a great artist. He managed to make each fish look alive, which gave Chen Chuan an immediate, intuitive understanding of them.

“I’d like to make something clear: these aren’t all the fish inside, just the ones I’ve eaten.” Then, he smacked his lips, as if he was recalling the taste.

By then, Chen Chuan already had a general grasp of the fish inside. He intended to test the waters first and understand the real situation before making further plans. So, he rested for a while, changed into his diving suit, and went to a pit.

“This time, you need to pay attention when you look for the signs. The fish might gnaw through the ropes attached to the signs, while others might be swept away by the rapid underwater current. You also need to judge whether the area ahead of the sign leads up. If you notice something amiss, come back,” He Xiaoxing said.

Chen Chuan nodded grimly. This was several times harder compared to the training before, and he had no room to make mistakes.

He sucked in a deep breath before jumping. The moment he landed, he found that the water temperature here was much higher than outside. As he swam forward, he also found that the shafts here contained so many twists and turns that forget about looking for any signs He Xiaoxing was going to throw in, he might just end up losing his direction after taking a few more turns.

Fortunately, after the training from the previous three days, he could use his instincts to identify the places he went to before while maintaining internal breathing. His mutated tissue was more active than usual, which was one of the greatest rewards of the training.

He wanted to go into another shaft, but when he took a turn, a rapid current gushed out from behind him. It came so fast that it took him by surprise and propelled him deeper into the shaft.

Chen Chuan’s heart skipped a beat. If the current brought him too deep, he might not be able to get out. Even with his second self, he might only be able to last a little longer, that was all.

At this crucial moment, he willed his mutated tissue to generate power and plunged his fingers into the wall of the shaft so that he would not be swept away.

Then, he did his best to stick to the wall, which had been made smooth by years of the rapid current crashing into it. With his fingers and his body working together, he slowly moved back to where he originally was.

He Xiaoxing was standing next to a pit and seemed to be staring at some point underground. Tattoos appeared under his clothes, but after a while, they faded away.

Back in the shaft, Chen Chuan managed to crawl away from the rapid current.

At this point, he had realized that the environment here was incredibly complex. It was better for him to move slowly and learn his surroundings. After all, while he was able to escape this time, he might not be able to do the same the next time.

Just then, he noticed that he was only able to get a tiny bit of oxygen. During that short moment he used to think, it seemed like countless things had crawled into him.

Were they stone algae?

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

They were, but they also seemed to be much stronger and more invasive than the ones he encountered before.

Still, Chen Chuan wasn’t the same as he was a few days ago. He immediately mobilized his mutated tissue and expelled them. Then, while moving his hands and legs together, he swam away from the area. After about ten seconds, he got out of the place, and the amount of stone algae assaulting him decreased.

Before he could relax, he noticed something charging at him at a rapid speed.