Chapter 72: You

Inside the sealed chamber, energy surged wildly.

Rare resources piled in the corner vanished into ash at an astonishing rate, their essential energy greedily drained by the system. The progress bar advanced slowly but steadily: 【68%... 69%...】

Qin Feng sat cross-legged at the center, his mind intimately linked to the system's upgrade process. He felt the system's core undergoing a radical transformation—a grander, more intricate set of rules restructuring itself. At the same time, he diverted a thread of his consciousness to vigilantly monitor the suppressed curse-decay within his body. Amid such a vast flow of energy, this thread of decay stood out like oil on water, and it seemed to grow… agitated due to the high-tier energy fluctuations radiating from the system's upgrade.

At that moment, an unexpected change erupted!

The gray, decaying energy—previously suppressed in the corner by the torrent of Star Marrow and the Life Matrix—suddenly writhed free as if stimulated, but instead of attacking Qin Feng's life source or disrupting energy absorption as before, it slithered like a cunning venomous snake, plunging straight into the torrent of resource energy being drained by the system, still untransformed!

【Warning! Unknown interfering energy detected entering upgrade energy stream! Energy purity decreased! Upgrade efficiency reduced!】 The system's alert chimed urgently.

Qin Feng's heart tightened! This curse-decay was so cunning—it knew it couldn't strike him directly, so it turned to pollute the very "fuel" needed for the upgrade!

The system's progress bar visibly slowed, even trembling slightly. A faint but stubborn streak of gray decay now tainted the once-brilliant energy stream, making the energy feel "thick" and "muddy," drastically reducing the system's assimilation efficiency.

If this trend continued, not only would the upgrade take far longer, but worse—these polluted energies injected into the system's core could cause an imperfect upgrade, or even leave unknown hazards!

"Damn it!" Qin Feng's fury surged. This curse was like a persistent parasite, deploying ever more despicable tactics.

He tried mobilizing the Life Matrix and the newly formed Star Marrow energy to dispel and purify the decay mixed into the stream, but the effect was negligible. The energy flow was immense and being rapidly siphoned by the system; his intervention was like trying to bail out the ocean with a cup, and risked triggering catastrophic energy chaos.

Was he truly powerless to let this crucial upgrade be ruined by this damned decay?

As Qin Feng's thoughts raced, searching for a solution, an unexpected change occurred.

The core light sphere of the 【Quan Neng System】—long suspended silently in his consciousness deep, rarely reacting except to provide skills and System Mall access—suddenly trembled faintly.

Immediately, an unprecedented, indescribable "pull" emerged from the sphere. This pull did not target the pure resource energy—it precisely locked onto the single thread of gray decay mixed within the stream!

The decay, gleefully polluting the energy flow, froze as if encountering its mortal enemy, then emitted a piercing shriek audible only on Qin Feng's perceptual level—filled with terror and despair—as it desperately struggled to escape.

But it was all futile.

Before the mysterious pull emanating from the system's core, this thread of "Ancient Evil Will Curse" decay—so troublesome even to Qin Feng—was stripped from the energy stream like a speck caught in a black hole, instantly yanked into the system's core light sphere!

【Detecting high-purity "Rule-Level Negative Energy"… Analyzing… Energy nature: Decay, Curse, Evil Will…】

【Attempting decomposition… Decomposition failed… Energy level too high.】

【Attempting absorption and conversion… Conversion efficiency too low, cost-benefit ratio insufficient.】

【Optimized solution: Activating "Rule-Level Energy Compression and Storage" protocol.】

A cascade of system alerts flashed through Qin Feng's mind, too fast for him to fully process.

The next instant, he felt the absorbed decay within the system's core being forcibly compressed and condensed by an incomprehensible force, finally forming a tiny, pitch-black bead—no larger than a grain of rice—that seemed to devour all light—temporarily sealed in a corner of the System Space.

The energy stream instantly regained its former purity and smoothness; the progress bar surged forward!

【Interference cleared, upgrade continuing… 75%... 80%...】

Had the crisis been resolved by the system in such a brutal and unbelievable way? Qin Feng was stunned.

"System, what just happened? That decay… did you absorb it?"

【Ding! Not absorbed. This curse energy is fundamentally a high-purity Rule-Level Negative Energy. Direct absorption and conversion are inefficient and risk contaminating the system core. It has been compressed and stored as 【Decay Crystal (Unpurified)】.】

【Decay Crystal (Unpurified)】: A Rule-Level Negative Energy crystal containing the origin of the Ancient Evil Will Curse. Extremely dangerous. Direct contact or use prohibited. Current use: Unknown. May attempt purification via point expenditure; post-purification uses pending analysis.

Looking at the system's description of the black bead, Qin Feng's gaze shifted slightly. He hadn't expected this decay, which had tormented him so much, to be treated by the system as mere "material"—even if still hazardous.

"How many points does purification require?"

【Initial purification requires 15,000 points to strip away partial evil will, reduce danger, and partially analyze potential uses.】

Points! Three times more than the previous "Spirit Barrier (Temporary)"! Qin Feng's lip twitched—he only had five thousand points total, far from enough.

"Forget it. Leave it for now." He was broke.

【Prompt: Host may choose to directly destroy this crystal, requiring 3,000 points.】

Direct destruction? Qin Feng stared at the pitch-black 【Decay Crystal】. Though born of a loathsome curse, it was still "Rule-Level" energy—and the system had chosen to seal it rather than expel it outright, suggesting it held genuine value. Destroying it felt…

"You're wasting it like this. I don't want that." Qin Feng unconsciously mimicked the system's own tone when criticizing his past "extravagant" behavior, rejecting the destruction option.

【…】 The system seemed to pause, then the prompt vanished.

Qin Feng no longer paid attention to the crystal he couldn't yet handle, redirecting all his focus back to the system upgrade.

Without the decay's interference, the upgrade proceeded flawlessly. Resource energy was efficiently drained; the progress bar advanced steadily.

【95%... 98%... 99%... 100%!】

The instant the progress bar reached one hundred percent—

Boom!

Qin Feng felt something inside his mind—or rather, his soul—shatter open! Not a destructive explosion, but a thunderous resonance of chains breaking, a realm transcending!

Countless more complex, more profound streams of information flooded his consciousness. The system interface blurred, then reformed—simpler, deeper, infused with the harmony of futuristic technology and mysterious cosmic laws.

A torrent of energy flowed back, further refining his body and spirit. The newly stabilized Life Matrix resonated more deeply with the system's new rules; though its optimization level remained unchanged, its foundation grew far more solid.

【Ding! System upgrade successful! Current level: Level 3!】

【Quan Neng System 3.0 at your service!】

【New features unlocked: Scan & Analyze (enables deeper analysis of non-living and energy entities), Skill Fusion (can merge and evolve mastered low-level skills into higher-level ones, requires points), Micro-Ecological Space (Tier 1, can store living organisms, time flow ratio 10:1 relative to main world)】

【System Mall updated, adding more high-tier items, technical blueprints, and transcendent skills.】

【Point acquisition efficiency increased!】

【Host's all attributes slightly enhanced!】

Feeling the massive changes brought by the new system—especially 【Scan & Analyze】, 【Skill Fusion】, and the miraculous 【Micro-Ecological Space】—Qin Feng's eyes blazed with brilliant light.

The previous struggles and shadows cast by the curse were largely dispelled by the joy of successful upgrade and the power of his new abilities.

He slowly rose, his aura contained yet exuding an unfathomable depth. His left arm moved freely; the injury was already a thing of the past.

"Scan & Analyze… Skill Fusion… Ecological Space…" Qin Feng murmured, a cold smile curling on his lips, "Good. The petty fools outside, and the source of this cursed plague—it's time we settled accounts."

His gaze turned toward the sealed chamber door, as if piercing through the thick alloy to see the storm raging outside against Qin Feng Pharmaceuticals.

Su Xiaowan, hold on. I'm coming.