After all this, who’s in the mood for hotpot?
Zhong Yingxue and Xia Yao took Little Fish home.
Jiangnan was eager to get back too.
Just by chance, he’d poured the strength potion on himself.
It boosted his physical abilities, and no baldness.
Oral use causes hair loss? External use works fine, then.
Brilliant.
On the way home, he picked up a bathtub.
In a forest on the outskirts of Jiangcheng.
Within three hundred metres, the area was a mess, torn-up turf, massive craters.
A military vehicle lay flipped, wrecked.
A woman stood by it.
Wearing a beret, her long hair tied into a bun.
Dressed in a black leather jacket, her expression grim.
Mid-twenties, high nose bridge, sharp, narrow eyes radiating intensity.
Her features were strikingly refined, yet chilling.
Her face was frosty, exuding a cold aura.
She wiped blood from her face, leaving stark streaks on her pale skin, wild and fierce.
Her subordinates were searching three bodies at her feet.
“Captain, the item’s not on them.”
The woman narrowed her eyes, “During missions, use codenames.”
“Yes, Captain Bobcat.”
Bobcat squinted, “If it’s not here, it’s with that Viper.”
“City-wide carpet search. The item must not get out.”
“She’s injured, she won’t escape the cordon. Find her.”
Officer, “Yes. We’re tightening the net, searching thoroughly.”
Bobcat hesitated, “What’s the situation at the mall?”
Officer, “Fire’s out. Twelve dead, thirty-seven injured.”
Bobcat was stunned. She’d expected more casualties.
The situation was urgent, she hadn’t time to save anyone.
Letting the item escape would cause greater harm.
“After Captain chased them, a spatial spiritual warrior teleported everyone trapped in the mall to safety.”
“Oh, and Alexander, the one Captain took down, didn’t die. He was saved and detained by the guards.”
Bobcat blinked, “Li Daotian stepped in?”
Officer gave a wry smile, “No way it’d involve Li Daotian. It was a high school senior named Jiangnan.”
Bobcat’s eyes gleamed.
China, vast and full of talent, had only one known spatial spiritual warrior, Li Mingshan, aka Li Daotian.
“A second spatial type? How’s the military unaware?”
The officer smacked his lips, unsure what to say, “Captain, here’s his file. E-rank talent, practically useless.”
The ultimate ability, the worst talent?
Really now.
Bobcat studied the file, including videos of him saving people.
“Twenty-one teleports, max range one hundred metres. Spiritual energy still not depleted. At least Black Iron Ten-Star. You’re telling me this is E-rank?”
Officer blinked, “Captain means the talent test was wrong?”
Bobcat watched footage of Jiangnan carrying people out, her gaze shifting.
“I want all his info.”
“Bring Alexander to me. I’ll interrogate him myself.”
Jiangnan was pouring strength potion into the bathtub, bucket by bucket.
Eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ten buckets filled it up.
“Tch, tch, tch. Ten million for a bath. Dubai tycoons got nothing on me.”
He indulged in a smug fantasy.
Jiangnan stripped and hopped into the tub.
The cold made him shiver hard.
Soaking, he closed his eyes, relaxed.
A surge of strength welled up inside him.
Not as direct, simple, or brutal as drinking it.
The potion’s energy steadily enhanced his physique.
Unlike the three-day effect of drinking, this was permanent, boosting his physical stats.
Senses, defence, reflexes, all improved.
“I’m bloody brilliant.”
“Good deeds pay off.”
If he hadn’t rushed into the fire, he wouldn’t have discovered this use for the potion.
He soaked comfortably for half an hour.
Until his body hit its absorption limit.
His physical stats reached ten times their original state.
Without drinking the potion.
He’d have to soak again tomorrow; the enhancement was gradual, not instant.
Looking at the potion in the tub, still potent.
“Hmm, should I bottle it up and sell it?”
Heh heh.
Bit cheeky, that idea.
Thrifty, sustainable recycling.
But isn’t that like selling my bathwater?
Jiangnan shivered.
Felt a bit weird.
He dropped the idea.
He admired his perfect physique.
Tch, tch, tch.
Look at those sleek muscle lines. Defined abs, balanced, not bulky.
This skin. Soft as a baby’s.
This elasticity. Supple and smooth.
Hmm?
Wait.
Something’s off.
Jiangnan looked down.
Bloody hell. What’s this?
Panicked, he checked his hair. Still there.
Eyebrows too.
But below the eyebrows, all hair gone?
Jiangnan cursed, “What the bloody ****.”
[Host insulted system, deducting 1000 yuan.]
Jiangnan, fuming, felt the sting.
But he accepted it.
For strength, a bit of desertification down there was no big deal.
No one would see.
His little secret.
Just then, a loud “clang” from the roof.
It caved in.
Someone fell through.
Jiangnan froze, about to leap out.
He was pushed back down, a glinting dagger at his throat.
A body pressed against him.
A scent of orchids mixed with blood hit his nose.
Golden hair slid down his shoulder into the tub.
A sense of extreme danger surged in him.
Like a blade at his back. He started to turn.
The dagger pressed harder, breaking his skin.
The woman behind leaned close, whispering, “Easy, lad. Move again, and you’re dead.”
Her breath tickled his ear. He froze, not daring to turn.
But he muttered, “Big sister, I’m no lad.”
The blonde glanced at the tub.
“Giggle. Not small, but so clean. Still say you’re not a lad?”
Jiangnan: ???
Bloody hell.
That logic’s too sound.
I can’t even argue.
