Chapter 69: I Believe in Him

"Commander! Commander!" A sentry, holding an automatic rifle, ran over nervously, saluted, and whispered, "Commander, all the insect corpses are gone!"

"What!" Commander Du exclaimed, those were over thirty red-armored insect corpses collected over more than three hours, how could they suddenly disappear?

The sentry lowered his voice, somewhat worried, and said, "I saw Mr. Chu go there, and after he came out, the corpses were gone!"

Commander Du suddenly raised his head, staring at Chu Yunsheng, who had already passed them and was heading towards the professors' meeting room. He was utterly shocked: How did he do it? Could it be that the ability enhancement he mentioned relies on the legendary method of devouring monster corpses? Thinking of the disgusting, slimy appearance of the insects, Commander Du felt a spasm in his stomach!

However, Commander Du quickly adjusted his emotions and expression. Whether Chu Yunsheng was human or a monster, as long as he was on their side, he was an ally. He sternly instructed the sentry in a low voice, "This matter must not be mentioned to anyone. It is now the highest secret of the command. From now on, you will be primarily responsible for the security behind the building. Don't bother Mr. Chu, let him do as he pleases!"

"Yes!" The sentry clenched his teeth, his eyes determined.

"Go!" Commander Du waved his hand weakly. He still had to explain Chu Yunsheng's situation to the eight newly gathered awakened warriors.

Chu Yunsheng's disregard for their doubts infuriated these new awakened warriors. They all expressed their inability to cooperate, unwilling to follow him blindly, and some even demanded a duel with Chu Yunsheng!

"A duel!?" An unexpected voice came from the doorway. It was Yao Xiang, who had been assigned by Commander Du to accompany another group of awakened warriors to hunt a few red-eyed monsters. He had just returned and heard the people in the hall questioning Chu Yunsheng's abilities.

Yao Xiang, always straightforward, said bluntly, "A duel? Chu doesn't care about this, probably because he doesn't want to hurt you. I've never seen anyone survive his sword, whether they are monsters or humans!..."

The sharp old man raised an eyebrow and interrupted, "Young man, don't exaggerate too much! Sword? We eight people, sixteen eyes, didn't see him with any iron!"

Yao Xiang had been working with Chu Yunsheng for some time and knew about his mysterious collection ability. However, he wouldn't casually reveal Chu Yunsheng's secrets. He pursed his lips and continued, "I'm just warning you. Believe it or not is up to you. I never lie! Don't say one person, even if all eight of you go, I bet my head that the one who will survive is him!"

Before he finished speaking, a one-star major officer stepped forward and said solemnly, "Commander, I believe Yao Xiang, so I believe in Mr. Chu's abilities!"

Commander Du nodded slightly.

The other military awakened warriors who followed him all stood on the officer's side, voicing their agreement.

The sharp old man grunted but didn't say anything more. After all, the other side was numerous and very determined. Continuing would make it seem like they were questioning the military, not Chu Yunsheng!

At this moment, Chu Yunsheng was in a corner of the meeting room, quietly smoking. The scientists' calculations were extremely complex, and without the aid of computers, progress was very slow. He would have to wait some time before he could get the new map of the fog wall's transformed passage.

The meeting room was lit by candles collected by the military from other places. Under the flickering candlelight, the professors looked abnormally busy and exhausted. Those who couldn't hold on anymore lay on makeshift beds made of chairs, all striving to the best of their abilities.

Chu Yunsheng, influenced by the atmosphere, yawned, extinguished his cigarette, and forced himself to absorb the elemental energy. Since understanding the basic diagram, he had focused on carefully observing the flow, state, strength, and fluctuations of the elemental energy, as well as the wondrous feeling of it combining with his body.

This was a very mentally taxing task. After just over an hour, Chu Yunsheng couldn't hold on any longer. He seemed to understand something, but when he thought about it carefully, everything was a chaotic mess, and he had no clue. There were too many principles and rules he didn't know!

In the sunny era, he had seen on TV and in novels that experts became more energetic the more they practiced. Not to mention using practice to replace sleep, their realms would rapidly improve with each practice, as if they were cabbages or watermelons.

Now, he realized how difficult it was. If it were just about mechanically absorbing elemental energy, he could endure it, even practicing for six hours at a time. But focusing his entire mind on observing, remembering, exploring, and understanding the process, and thinking about the details of each step, he couldn't last even an hour and a half before his head started to ache!

When Chu Yunsheng opened his eyes, he was startled. Professor Sun was sitting across from him, smiling warmly, his eyes burning with enthusiasm, which made Chu Yunsheng feel a chill!

"Is there something?" Chu Yunsheng steadied his mind and forced himself out of his meditative state.

Professor Sun waved his hands, "No, I'm just curious. By the way, do you dare to look at dead bodies?"

Chu Yunsheng was puzzled by his sudden question. He had seen too many dead bodies, from Shencheng all the way to here, the road was littered with human corpses.

Seeing his lack of reaction, Professor Sun explained in a low voice, "Not ordinary dead bodies, but dissected ones, the bodies of Gan Ziqiang and the others you killed that day!"

Chu Yunsheng was shocked and sprang up from his chair, his eyes suddenly becoming wary and cold, even ready to activate his battle armor!

He had always had a good impression of the old professor, not only because the old man didn't hold grudges and treated the soldiers who protected him with gratitude, but also because the old man repeatedly emphasized that scientists were not like Chu Yunsheng thought, dissecting awakened humans for research, which made Chu Yunsheng feel relieved.

Now, Professor Sun suddenly told him that they had dissected Gan Ziqiang and the others. Although Gan Ziqiang was his enemy, as a fellow warrior in the realm of elemental energy, if scientists started dissecting Gan Ziqiang today, they might dissect other awakened warriors tomorrow, or even him, for some research.

Chu Yunsheng thought to himself that he had been too careless. Perhaps staying with these people for too long had made him feel that the scientists were relatively kind, gradually relaxing his vigilance. In a situation where he had no trustworthy companions around, he had practiced without any guard, and if these scientists had tried to study him, he might have already died.

Seeing his expression change, Professor Sun quickly gestured, "Little Chu, don't be nervous, listen to me..."

Chu Yunsheng calmed down, realizing he had overreacted, even feeling a bit fragile. Now, whether it was Commander Du or the scientists, they needed his help to get out of danger and would not harm him!

But what kind of world was this!?

He had seen two people, to escape from a pursuing insect, one of them trick the other into helping, then break the other's leg, leaving the injured person to slow down the insect, while he escaped.

He had seen a kind little girl, to help a person who was about to starve to death, share her food, only to be stabbed and have all her food taken.

He had seen a group of newly awakened warriors, when red-eyed monsters came in droves, someone unhesitatingly pull their teammate to block the oncoming monsters.

He had seen people, unable to climb a slope due to the weight of their vehicle, under the threat of monsters, shoot each other, throwing the dead out of the vehicle.

He had seen people use half a loaf of bread to lure other ordinary humans into a trap, like Jiang Lao, capturing them to make human bombs to kill the flesh insects.

...

He had seen too many such things, each leaving a deep fear in his heart. In the sunny era, he was just an extremely ordinary citizen, living a mundane life. After entering the dark era, he, with the mindset of an ordinary citizen, endured one after another dark and inhumane tragedy. Even with the ancient book as his support, he became increasingly sensitive, vigilant, and fragile.

Sometimes, humans are far more terrifying than monsters!