"Hahaha, what a massive haul this time!" Zheng Zha's first words upon return were a loud burst of laughter, yet everyone around him remained frozen in the exact positions he had left them, causing them all to stare at him in a bizarre fashion.

"...Is there something on me?" Zheng Zha's smile faltered instantly, and he asked somewhat awkwardly.

"No, nothing major... it’s just that the situation felt extremely strange. Think about it yourself: you tell someone seriously that you're heading off for some advanced training, you see them onto the plane, and the very next second, they jump off, cheering loudly about what a huge harvest they had... Pay attention to that last exclamation."

Xiao Honglü pinched a strand of his hair, chuckling as he spoke.

"That does sound rather weird..." Despite the words, when Zheng Zha finally produced the massive sack of energy stones, everyone present was nevertheless sharply delighted. Especially since all team members now knew that Zheng Zha had acquired a formation from another team that enhanced recovery, meaning with this quantity of energy stones, that formation could finally be utilized without any reservations.

Once the initial excitement subsided, everyone began preparing for the next horror movie world. The remaining six days offered a chance to relax a bit. Since they all possessed substantial reward points, where they chose to vacation—whether traveling to a vacation world or staying put in the basements of their respective rooms—was left entirely up to individual choice.

As captain, Zheng Zha, however, had little inclination for leisure. Besides spending time with Loli, most of his days were consumed by adjusting his own state.

Whether it was breaking through the fourth stage of the Genetic Lock, the True Essence Power whose usage and cultivation methods remained completely obscure, the Bagua Flag for which he had only grasped a tiny clue, or the exceedingly dangerous Tiger Soul Blade—in short, Zheng Zha’s six days were anything but idle.

In contrast, the other team members, barring a very few exceptions, were largely quite relaxed. The representatives of this group were naturally the soldiers led by Cheng Xiao, including Ba Wang.

Wang Xia followed closely behind them. Because they relied on technological weaponry, the possibilities for physical training were significantly reduced. Furthermore, since they were already highly competent soldiers to begin with, beyond their fixed daily routines, they generally had more time arranged than others, allowing them to balance work and rest during these six days.

As for Xiao Honglü, Qi Tengyi, and Luo Gandao, since they originated from ordinary civilian backgrounds—even if they possessed some talent—they still didn't know how to properly train themselves. Thus, during these six days, they could only focus on desperately honing the aspects they were already skilled in. Qi Tengyi had it worst of all: since the slots for sub-plot missions had been filled by Zheng Zha and the others, and beyond receiving some reward points from Ba Wang to enhance his physical fitness and receiving injections of Dragon Blood and the TB virus original fluid, none of his other skills or attributes were upgraded. Consequently, all he could do was relentlessly fire a heavy machine gun day in and day out.

Excluding these two categories, Zero Point, Zhao Yingkong, and Zhang Heng belonged to the type desperately striving to become stronger. The actions of these three were marked by incredible tenacity; they trained in their respective rooms day and night until they were injured, only to be fully repaired by the "Main God" before starting again. Whether it was Zero Point’s Line-and-Dot Demonic Eye, or the new weapons and skills possessed by Zhao Yingkong and Zhang Heng, all of these required significant time and energy to master. These six days were dedicated precisely to this familiarization process.

Of course, Zhan Lan and Chu Xuan remained. They did not fit into any of the previous three categories. Zhan Lan’s mental power was virtually untraceable, and she found no practical way to train it, so she was forced into a state of reluctant idleness every day. As for Chu Xuan... aside from knowing he was engaged in something incredibly bizarre, no one had the slightest idea what he was actually doing.

Time... slowly trickled by...

"Three days left..." Zhao Yingkong stared at the battered state of the basement before her. In the last strike, this area had been utterly devastated. Beyond the near-total destruction of the basement, Zhao Yingkong herself was covered in wounds. She was practically dragging her body toward the stairs leading to the first floor. Along the path, the ground was slick with blood. If one looked closely, they could see that one of her arms was completely severed, broken cleanly across its middle.

Zhao Yingkong seemed impervious to pain; only when she accidentally brushed the wound against a wall did the girl slightly furrow her brow. She finally managed to pull herself from the basement into the first-floor hall. Upon opening the main door, she walked straight outside, finally stopping only when she reached the "Main God" Plaza. Then, uttering the words, "Full Body Repair," a beam of light enveloped her.

(If it’s this move... it’s countless times stronger than the Shining Void Wave. If it’s this move, no one will be able to easily dodge it, not even Zheng Zha’s clone from the Demon Team, nor 'Him'... This move will definitely work!) After the full repair was complete, the little girl let out a soft sigh of relief. Although she was truly incredibly strong, her body was still flesh and blood; how could she not feel pain? It was just that she had always buried pain and weakness deep in her heart, only allowing that sliver of vulnerability to show during these solitary moments... "Time to go back. We enter the horror world the day after tomorrow. I still haven’t finished reading that novel called Infinite Horror—about a quarter remains... Tomorrow I can take a rest day and finish the book," Zhao Yingkong murmured, lowering her head as she walked back toward her room.

This seemed to be an unwritten rule: on the final day before entering a horror movie, one must rest. Otherwise, fatigue could lead to disaster upon entering the world. Thus, on this final day of intense training, the others were also engaged in varying degrees of strenuous practice.

Zhang Heng’s training was equally rigorous. Although his nature was timid, fearing close combat and bloodshed, he possessed absolute perseverance and willpower when it came to training. Daily practice of his archery skills had damaged his fingers and the web between his thumb and forefinger, and even his elbows showed significant wear. It was fortunate the "Main God's" full repair was so effective; otherwise, at his training intensity, especially when practicing the newly acquired Electric Arrows and the gradually mastered Triple Burst Arrow, the strain on his body was almost self-inflicted injury.

Zhang Heng lay sprawled on the ground, gulping breaths. His silver metallic bow rested not far beside him. Because Zheng Zha had acquired a large number of low-grade energy stones this time, Zhang Heng immediately received three hundred stones to use as ammunition. Firing these D-grade stones through the bowstring allowed him to shoot over a hundred energy arrows simultaneously. His bow had instantly transformed into a laser machine gun, the power of which need not be emphasized. Moreover, Zhang Heng discovered that after activating the energy stones within the silver metallic bow, unleashing these hundred-plus energy arrows using his new technique as Electric Arrows—the resulting destructive power... Zhang Heng struggled to lift his arm, but his right arm was utterly shattered, a comminuted fracture deep in the bone. Without the "Main God’s" complete repair, this arm would never have been able to draw a bow again. But equally, the cost of this injury was entirely worth it for testing the new moves! Gazing at the kilometer-wide concave clearing in the distance of the basement, Zhang Heng finally let out a deep breath. The power of this single technique surpassed his imagination; such force would certainly be a key determinant in future battles, he firmly believed... The only question now was how to get up? Apparently, one arm was shattered, and the other was dislocated? Without dwelling on his predicament of rising, other team members were also engaged in their own battles.

Wang Xia stood silently, eyes closed, in the basement of his room. On his palm was the faint spherical trace of a glowing light. It was impossible to tell how long he had been standing there. When he opened his eyes, his hand moved as if gripping something, tossing it violently into the distance. Instantly, a fierce explosion erupted fifty meters away, the blast powerful enough to completely shatter a several-meter-high boulder. That wasn't all; Wang Xia then slammed both palms onto the ground. Where his hands struck, a creature seemed to manifest, diving rapidly underground toward the boulder. When the creature collided with the rock, another thunderous explosion occurred, even more powerful than the first, instantly shattering the boulder into fragments... "Twice; my demonic power isn't enough. I can only use it twice still... I'll try one more time when the demonic power recovers. That winged tracking bomb seems quite good; I’ll try that power next time..." Wang Xia then resumed his vacant, silent stance.

Ba Wang... was engaged in close-quarters combat with a certain blonde beauty; we will skip this for now...

Zero Point... was holding a little girl who strongly resembled a boy, reading a fairy tale to her; we will skip this for now...

Cheng Xiao... mid-combat; we will skip this for now...

Chu Xuan... his room was filled with the sound of machinery and gears, and he was maniacally twisting various levers with an obsessed look; this... we will also skip for now...

Of the remaining few, Zheng Zha was quietly fishing with Lolita in the small stream in the basement. Zhan Lan was humming a tune while making something in her home kitchen. And Xiao Honglü and the voluptuous, mature woman were... In short, time quickly advanced to the tenth day. When everyone gathered in the "Main God" Plaza, after a short while, several pillars of light descended from the sky, and the solemn voice of the "Main God" echoed:

"Enter the pillars of light within thirty seconds. Target lock transfer initiated. Transformers beginning teleportation..."

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