CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER 291: VOLCANIC ERUPTION

"Hey."

Yu Shujun called out softly.

Unlike Guan Ailin, Yu Shujun wasn’t accustomed to being held like this. Her body was stiff, like a kitten being lifted by its owner for the first time, rigid as if paralyzed by a spell, eyes staring blankly forward with a bewildered yet vacant expression.

Wen Nan chuckled, gently placing her on the table beside him, pinching her cheeks, "What’s with the face?"

This storage room was similar to Harry’s little hut in layout, a small room sectioned off beneath the stairs, cramped and low. The distance between the waist-high tabletop and the ceiling above was even narrower than the upper berth space on a green train.

Lying on top, it was impossible to sit up straight, only able to prop oneself slightly with arms, the head almost touching the slanted composite board overhead.

Yu Shujun lay face-up on the table, feeling very insecure, trying to get off by supporting herself with her arms; however, before she could turn over, she was dragged back a bit by a pinch on her thigh from the person beside her.

Her legs suddenly dangled, and Yu Shujun looked at Wen Nan anxiously, "Not here..."

Previously, Wen Nan might have agreed with her, but now he raised his head, glancing at the floating value panel above him—

[Fear Value: 1; Desire Value: 15; Conversion Rate: 93.75%.]

He only had this last bit of Fear Value left, if he’s not careful, he’d hit a perfect score and be forced to "hand in his test early"!

This time, he absolutely couldn’t let the other person have their way; he had to maintain control based on his own pace and method, striving to use this last bit of Fear Value to fully charge the [Root Breaking Slash] he had stolen.

The task was daunting, Wen Nan adjusted his posture, fitted the hollow ball, and quickly got to the main point.

Although Yu Shujun was quite dissatisfied with the narrow tabletop and half-suspended state, this time she didn’t resist the hollow ball; even without the chains binding, she didn’t reach out to interfere, as if she had quickly adapted?

But that didn’t matter anymore, Wen Nan quickly focused on the main issue.

His player level was far inferior to Wei Zhe’s on the opposite side, and after exchanging a few moves earlier, he clearly felt the huge gap in combat power caused by attribute value differences.

So this time, no matter what, he had to fully charge.

Not just charging, but also using his final killer move—

9527: [Detected that the player is activating attribute-enhancing equipment: Golden Shorts.]

9527: [The initial enhancement effect of the equipment increases the selected attribute value by 3% based on the original, and the enhancement effect increases with the effective loss of body fluid within the last 90 minutes, calculated by DNA concentration, excluding urine and sweat.]

9527: [The player can only choose one attribute to enhance and can make the selection at any time. Once chosen, it cannot be changed permanently, confirm activation now?]

Wen Nan hit the confirm button, and the next moment—

9527: [Golden Shorts officially activated for you, please choose the attribute you wish to enhance...]

Once it’s locked, the Golden Shorts could only enhance that one attribute.

Wen Nan initially wanted to save this for boosting charm later, but there was no choice now. The situation was urgent, so he could only make the sacrifice.

The supreme skill of all martial arts, only speed can’t be overcome.

Since he was fencing with Wei Zhe, in the end, Wen Nan chose [Agility].

9527: [Selected enhanced attribute: Agility.]

9527: [Original Agility Value: 554/10000, Enhanced Initial Agility Value: 570/10000.]

9527: [During the specified time limit, the more effective body fluid loss, the stronger the enhancement effect, please be aware.]

Wen Nan looked up at his perilously low Fear Value, deciding to extend the process as much as possible.

However, things didn’t go as planned.

Often, the more you’d like things to slow down, the faster they go.

Wen Nan’s body suddenly stood up straight, his face darkened.

Yu Shujun was also startled.

They both had quite a bit of experience by now, and Yu Shujun knew when to anticipate the climax, eagerly waiting for fireworks in the humid night sky.

Unexpectedly, what arrived wasn’t fireworks, but a volcanic eruption.

Yu Shujun stiffened with fear, then shivered violently.

Looking up again, the floating value panel overhead shifted once more—

[Fear Value: 0; Desire Value: 100; Conversion Rate: 100%.]

It’s over, oops, another perfect score, and I’m handing in early.

Wen Nan frantically threw down the rod, removed the hollow ball, and dashed towards the 2nd test space at full speed.

Soon, the system would announce Wen Nan’s victory, and in a few minutes, all test spaces would be withdrawn, losing his optimal combat field.

Fortunately, his running speed was much faster than he expected.

Surrounded by darkness, Wen Nan had no point of reference and wasn’t sure how fast he was going, but he felt like he was rivaling Spiderman.

Upon reaching the 2nd test space, the system prompt in his mind hadn’t yet activated.

Wen Nan just exhaled when—

9527: [Congratulations, player, Desire Value conversion rate successfully reached 100%!]

9527: [According to the Divine Staff Sheath qualification test rules, when two candidates complete the test with the same score, the one who achieves the score first wins.]

9527: [Congratulations! You are the first candidate in this test to achieve a perfect score, winning automatically!]

9527: [This qualification test ends early, and the test space will collapse in 5 minutes. Please prepare for settlement.]

What’s coming has arrived.

The test space in front of him was about to collapse.

Wen Nan remembered the first time he came, he fought with the opponent for thirty rounds without winning. This time, does he really have to finish the fight in 5 minutes and win?

This question didn’t linger long in Wen Nan’s mind. He quickly opened a slit in the outer wall of the test space and faced Wei Zhe again.

Wei Zhe had just finished grappling with a newly spawned giant puppet, holding a sword enhanced to reach the ceiling by the Matthew Fragment, and turned around.

Seeing Wen Nan, Wei Zhe sneered, "Hmph! Fool! So eager to come back and die?! Since that’s the case, I’ll fulfill your wish and let you die here in the Divine Staff Sheath, just like those women you slept with—"

Clang!

Thud!

Halfway through his words, Wei Zhe’s sword was suddenly cut in half, and a bloodline crossed his face, spurting blood.

"Ah—"

The long sword clanged to the ground, and in an instant, the last glimmer of light completely extinguished.

"Why..."

Wei Zhe’s eyes widened, blood-red with gore, and even as half his skull slid to the ground, he couldn’t comprehend why he died so quickly.

Wen Nan put away his double-edged sword, gazing at the shimmering gold and silver lights above.

So fast.

Fast enough to finish the opponent with one move?

Wen Nan was startled by his own speed of attack.

He lowered his eyes, looking at the golden edge of his Golden Shorts—

This thing, how come it enhances attributes so powerfully? His earlier speed wasn’t just Spiderman, he felt more like The Flash!

A little faster, and he might as well be spinning a black hole and turning back time!

This... why?

Wen Nan incredulously pinched the edge of his Golden Shorts, intending to examine it when a gemstone tumbled out from the bloodied person in front of him.

Wen Nan stepped forward, squatted, picked up the gemstone, intending to inspect it closely, when he heard a "crack" "crack" sound at his feet, like eggshells shattering.

Turning to look, Wen Nan saw Wei Zhe’s skin cracking like old wall paint, falling off in pieces.

The surface skin vanished, revealing his true self—a thin, pale young man with sparse hair and panda-like dark circles, looking utterly drained.

Wen Nan shook his head, planning to search him for any other useful equipment he could pick up.

But then the environment began to collapse around them, and both Wei Zhe and his broken sword disintegrated into many pieces, vanishing from view.

Standing up, Wen Nan found himself back at the dark pond of the Divine Staff Sheath, a floating screen overhead with changing prompt—

[This Sword Holder qualification test officially ends!]

[Congratulations to Candidate No. 3, successfully defending the title once again with a perfect score, earning the Sword Holder candidate status for the third time!]

[...Would you like to bind it now?]

Wen Nan looked at the familiar three options, then down at the new Divine Staff Fragment in his hand.

After a moment of thought, Wen Nan still selected [Temporary Binding].

The ground began to spin again, his body plummeting rapidly, and upon landing, Wen Nan returned to the top floor of the Trend Frontline Fashion building, at the stairwell.

Night had fallen by now, the crime scene had been cleared, and everyone had withdrawn beyond the cordon at the bottom of the building, leaving Wen Nan standing alone.

He stood there, glancing at the Fragment in his hand and then at his waist’s Golden Shorts, only to find...

His Golden Shorts... had torn?!

It was a hidden Divine Artifact comparable to the Matthew Fragment!

Wen Nan anxiously sat on the ground, took off his pants, about to inspect his Divine Artifact, when a figure approached.

Wen Nan looked up to see Yu Shujun somehow in front of him, looking down at him.

Watching Wen Nan’s actions with his pants, Yu Shujun showed a complicated expression, then said, "If it didn’t satisfy you in there, outside... it’s not impossible to continue... so there’s no need to solve it yourself so eagerly."

Wen Nan: ?