Chapter 57

Ma Le practiced over and over again, feeling the warm energy flow circulate within his body, gradually growing stronger. Finally, after seven or eight hours, he successfully completed the first level of cultivation and began to advance to the second level.

At this stage, Ma Le clearly felt that it was not as smooth as before. The true energy flow was sluggish, and progress was slow. For several hours, there was no substantial breakthrough, and he was only consolidating the first level.

Feeling restless, Ma Le gave up practicing and picked up the Miracle Badge to check the time. He noticed that there were multiple unread notifications. Previously, he had been so focused on practicing that he hadn't noticed. It turned out that he had unknowingly activated the energy interface:

Energy System: Qi Gong Energy Type: Martial Power

Energy Types: True Energy, Internal Energy

Energy Ratio: 8

Total Energy: 480 points

Energy Recovery Speed: Automatic recovery of about 1 point per minute, meditation recovery of about 10 points per minute

Cultivation Techniques Learned: Nine Yang Divine Skill, Level 1.

...

It turned out that this internal energy also belonged to the energy system and had been quantified by the system. Ma Le checked the relevant explanations and found that the energy's foundation came from physical strength and mental attributes. The total energy value depended on the product of these two attributes and the energy ratio. Ma Le's qi gong belonged to the martial power type, so his energy value was physical strength multiplied by the energy ratio, 60 × 8 = 480. The use of these energy points generally involved enhancing oneself for martial power types, while magic power types were more often used for casting spells.

Ma Le practiced the Nine Yang Divine Skill, feeling the true energy accelerate within his body, filling him with strength. He punched the wall, and although he didn't use the Iron Fist, the wall cracked like a spider web. Not only that, he discovered that the true energy in his punch scattered and affected the surrounding objects. At his current first level, it was not enough to injure others with the wind of his punches or palms. If he reached the highest level, Ma Le believed he would be like the martial arts experts in novels, capable of injuring people from a distance with his palm strikes!

The energy system was different from skills and talents, being a more flexible and free-form power. Therefore, only the energy value and recovery speed could be quantified. The specific effects and damage varied depending on the cultivation technique and the practitioner. Even for the same person, the energy performance could differ in different states. Thus, the Miracle Badge did not specify the exact benefits of practicing qi gong, but as a martial power energy, the specific power should be related to strength and agility attributes.

However, through his exploration, Ma Le found that when he practiced the Nine Yang Divine Skill, his strength increased slightly, by about 70 points, and his resistance to attacks also improved, equivalent to an additional dozen points of armor. According to Ma Le's tests, this additional defense was true energy defense, effective against both physical and energy attacks. To maintain this state, he needed to consume 1-2 points of true energy per second, meaning he could only sustain it for 4-8 minutes before needing to replenish his internal energy.

In addition, when attacking, Ma Le could consciously concentrate true energy in his fists or feet to cause extra damage, consuming about 5-10 points of true energy per attack. Concentrating true energy in other areas could also provide benefits, such as improving vision by focusing it in the eyes or increasing movement speed by focusing it in the legs. However, the consumption of true energy would greatly increase. Therefore, in a real fight, with his current level of true energy, Ma Le might not last more than three minutes.

Ma Le was so delighted with his new power that he completely lost track of time. Unbeknownst to him, it was already the early hours of the morning. The once bustling and noisy Los Angeles was now silent, with desolate streets, wandering zombies, and intermittent gunshots.

In a small alley near the mall where Ma Le and Brad had fought, the homeless man who had witnessed Ma Le opening the box was still living there. In the middle of the night, he was sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt a bright light in front of him, accompanied by a buzzing noise that flickered on and off. The homeless man rubbed his eyes and saw that the entire alley was filled with flashing sparks. Moments later, all the light converged at one point, followed by a loud explosion. A naked man appeared out of nowhere and fell to the ground.

"Hey, brother, did you see that bright light?" The homeless man, still half-asleep, greeted him groggily. The naked man shook his head and, seeing the homeless man, pounced and started to take off his pants. The homeless man thought he had encountered a pervert and shouted for help. Just then, a police car passed by, and the police officers got out with flashlights to investigate.

The man had just put on the homeless man's pants when he saw the approaching police officers. Without a word, he ran away. The black police officer drew his gun and shouted, chasing after him, while the police car circled around to block his path.

The black police officer chased the man to a garbage dump but lost sight of him. Holding his gun, he cautiously searched the area. Suddenly, a dark figure rushed out from the side, pinned him against the wall, and took his gun, pointing it at him. It was the man who had robbed the homeless man.

The man asked, "What time is it now?"

The black police officer, seeing the dark barrel of the gun, swallowed hard and stammered, "May 12th..."

"I asked what year it is!" the man roared. The black police officer looked at him in confusion, but before he could answer, the sound of sirens approached. His partner had come to back him up. The man, realizing the situation, ran away, crashing through an iron gate and entering a building.

The building was a department store, and the upper floor was the clothing store where Ma Le and Brad had fought. The man stole a coat and a pair of sneakers in the dark, evaded the police search, and climbed down to the first floor through a window. He saw a police car parked at the entrance. The car was unlocked, so he quietly opened the door, stole a police shotgun, and left without a trace.

He arrived at a phone booth, opened the yellow pages, and found Sarah Connor's address. This man was the first protagonist of the original movie, Kyle Reese, who had come from the future to protect Sarah Connor.

On the other side of the city, a massive man had just encountered three hooligans playing with a telescope. After killing two of them, the third obediently handed over his clothes... This man was the T-800 Terminator sent from the future to assassinate Sarah Connor!

The main characters of the plot had finally all appeared!

...

After a night of cultivation and experimentation, when Ma Le came to his senses, he found that it was already daylight. The Miracle Badge had not transmitted any news of combat or death, so the two sides had not clashed last night. For the Miracle City adventurers, it was best if things remained peaceful. If a real conflict occurred, after seeing Brad's power, Ma Le did not believe that the Miracle City side had a chance of winning.

In the fight with Brad, if it weren't for the feigning death skill, Ma Le would have died. Although the giant bat had been completely absorbed, there was still a strength-type attacker on the other side. According to Sun Wenxing's description, this guy's combat ability was even stronger than Ma Le's. As for the female summoner, although her strongest card had been eliminated by Ma Le, she still had over a hundred skeletons, zombies, and mummies. Although these creatures were about as strong as ordinary people, they were fearless. If they really faced off, the beginners might not be able to handle even a few of them. And the old team leader, whose strength was unfathomable, might be enough to wipe out the entire Miracle City team of a dozen people.

Thinking about this, Ma Le suddenly realized that the Persian Cat was also in danger. The little brat was very smart and had a mysterious air, making Ma Le subconsciously not treat him as a beginner. He even felt that the little brat was more powerful than the ordinary-level adventurers. But rationally, he was still a beginner. If he encountered the Hurricane City adventurers, he would be in grave danger!

Although the Persian Cat was arrogant and sarcastic, he was not inherently bad, and Ma Le got along well with him. He didn't want to see him in danger. Not just the Persian Cat, but also the Snowy Owl, Wang School Uniform, Xu Shirt, Long Sanshan, and other beginners. They were all victims of Sun Wenxing's actions, and it would be unfair for them to die at the hands of Hurricane City.

Ma Le was not a compassionate Buddha, but he felt that hiding and pretending to be a coward was not right. Although he didn't like Sun Wenxing and his group, there were still some decent people among the other adventurers. Should he warn them? At worst, they could abandon the main quest and face some penalties, but it was better than losing their lives... At least, he should inform the Persian Cat.

With this in mind, Ma Le picked up the Miracle Badge and pressed the adventurer number 119030 for the Persian Cat, about to initiate a conversation. Suddenly, he heard gunshots outside. Someone was coming?

...

After leaving Sun Wenxing, the Persian Cat, Snowy Owl, and Wang School Uniform hid in an area not infected by zombies. According to the Persian Cat, with Ma Le dead and Sun Wenxing acting on his own, the team had split, and it was impossible to defeat the Hurricane City adventurers. The only way for Sun Wenxing's group to complete the main quest was to run, so whether Wang School Uniform could complete his main quest was up to fate. As for the Persian Cat and Snowy Owl's tasks, they had to wait for the T-800 to arrive.

However, a news report changed the Persian Cat's strategy. The news showed videos and photos of a street massacre taken by citizens, capturing not only the grotesque skeletons and zombies but also the faces of three Hurricane City adventurers. In the chaotic crowd, only these three remained calm, not only avoiding attacks but also having a few skeletons guarding them! The media believed that this abnormal phenomenon could only mean that these three were the instigators of the massacre and the entire Los Angeles incident!

Seeing this news, the Persian Cat's eyes lit up, and he immediately took the two to the most severely affected residential area, which was where Ma Le was.

However, they found that the area was not only overrun by zombies but had also evolved to include special mutated creatures like the Licker. As soon as they entered, they were spotted by a group of wandering Lickers.

Among the three, Wang School Uniform was a useless fighter. The Persian Cat, although powerful, was still a beginner-level mage with limited agility, and could only defend against the agile Lickers. The only one who could fight effectively was the Snowy Owl, but her sniper rifle reloaded too slowly, and the white weapons scavenged from the gun store were not powerful enough to handle more than a dozen Lickers. The fight was perilous, and they had to retreat while fighting, deeper into the residential area.

---

The story continues...