Chapter 167: Discovery

"Failed? Is it a one-time use? But even a one-time ability adding only one day is ridiculous!"

At dawn, Feng Xue stared at the number 3302 above his head, his expression grim; last night he hadn't locked his lifespan, and his body had continuously been nourished by the Blessing Artifact's power, yet when he woke this morning, his lifespan hadn't changed at all, making him doubt the true power of this Blessing Artifact.

But undeniably, when he had crossed over at midnight yesterday, his lifespan had indeed risen to 3303—this one day was no illusion.

"Could it be because the faith in the God of Immortality was severed? But when I activated this thing, I already shattered the God of Immortality!"

Feng Xue racked his brains but didn't dwell on it; at least he'd gained one day of lifespan, proving the Blessing Artifact wasn't useless—so he just needed to find the right way to use it.

After eating the breakfast prepared by Liu Yunxi, Feng Xue stuffed another fish cake into his mouth before beginning today's morning practice; though he could now sense the flow of qi and blood, he didn't feel he had achieved great mastery—whenever he thought of the super-Terrans from his last world, Feng Xue felt an undeniable anxiety about his mortal flesh.

Adjusting his breathing rhythm, Feng Xue moved from body-strengthening exercises to static stances, then from static stances to dynamic stances, as the defensive and nutritive qi circulated within him, while the little bell seized this opportunity to continuously scan his body.

Ultimately, the little bell's development capability was merely an exhaustive method—she needed to collect enough data to deduce a method combining Xuan Xiu and Wu Xiu.

After finishing the fist form, Feng Xue was about to return indoors and browse the web when his face suddenly paled.

Because in the over-the-shoulder view, the number above his head had dropped to 3301!

"Damn, what the hell?" Feng Xue was stunned, quickly locking his lifespan, then staring down at the jade rabbit pendant still lacking sentience, nearly throwing it away outright.

"No! That doesn't make sense! Even if it can't extend lifespan, it shouldn't—wait… could it be that during training I didn't continuously activate the Blessing Artifact, so…?"

At this thought, Feng Xue's expression turned subtle, for he suddenly realized: perhaps the artifact wasn't incapable of extending lifespan, but merely added too little—barely exceeding the natural decay—and last night, when he crossed over at midnight, he had just barely reached the critical threshold; then he'd been busy and hadn't paid attention, unaware when he'd consumed that single day, while last night he'd kept it active, so his lifespan hadn't moved at all until just now…

Though this was only speculation, verifying it wasn't difficult—after all, all he needed to do was wait for midnight and see whether the number would tick over as before; judging from his two prior crossings, regardless of whether a full day had passed, the crossing reset the count according to this world's time—in other words, if his lifespan ticked precisely at midnight tonight, it meant no extension; but if it didn't tick, even by a few dozen seconds, his guess was correct.

But…

Feng Xue hesitated, then re-unlocked his lifespan, for to conduct this experiment, one more point had to be confirmed—that—

His lifespan wouldn't begin to decrease the moment he unlocked it!

So at least today, he couldn't lock it!

Though not locking lifespan was the normal state for a person, Feng Xue, accustomed to locking his lifespan, felt a strong sense of insecurity—like an OCD patient with a drop of ink stuck to his forearm but forbidden to wash it off, unable to calm his mind.

But Feng Xue deeply understood the importance of this experiment; forcing himself to ignore his restlessness, he returned indoors and began browsing the web.

His clinic had received no promotional campaign, so clearly no patients would come today; and since he wasn't locking his lifespan, he had no intention of going out—so he might as well gather data at home; as for other plans… he'd raid the pachinko parlor after confirming the lifespan issue tonight.

…

"Interesting…" As he browsed the web, Feng Xue's anxiety gradually shifted under the flood of information; though most online content reeked of mindless entertainment, this old hand still scavenged useful tidbits from the text.

For instance, official wanted posters.

"Little Xiao Lingdang, look up the data on these people."

Feng Xue, gazing at the top hundred "handsome men and beautiful women" on the local wanted list, immediately issued a search command.

Hearing Feng Xue's order, Little Xiao Lingdang's terminal whirred rapidly; though unable to breach the aliens' classified intelligence, the internet had memory—no matter how obscure the corner, once a target was set, Little Xiao Lingdang could reach it.

After roughly fifteen seconds, Little Xiao Lingdang delivered her report:

"Report, Master: no relevant information on these individuals exists on the local network, but I found some related data on foreign forums, though discussion is minimal."

As she spoke, Little Xiao Lingdang popped up over a dozen web links on Feng Xue's phone; the titles read—

【Current Status of Anti-He Patriots.】

【The Struggle Continues.】

【How Much Longer Will We Sit Idly By?】

【Nationwide Wanted—Hope the Patriots Are Safe…】

…

"Huh!" Feng Xue instantly understood—underground resistance group, right?

But even with their photos exposed, they hadn't been caught—was Giant He Xing's technology too weak, or did these people possess some kind of disguise technique? Or had they already escaped He Zujie entirely?

Feng Xue felt suspicious; given that even Little Xiao Lingdang dared not probe too deeply, Giant He Xing's technology clearly wasn't weak—things achievable in a world several technological tiers behind his last one should be well within Giant He Xing's reach.

Is it inability… or unwillingness?

Suddenly, Feng Xue's gaze fixed on one discussion thread, its title simple—

【Another Anti-He Patriot Captured—How Long Can the Neon Resistance Hold Out?】

"Little Xiao Lingdang, check the cancellation dates of past wanted posters," Feng Xue swiftly issued a new command, having caught a crucial clue; this time Little Xiao Lingdang didn't take long to deliver the data.

Feng Xue stared at the batches of canceled wanted posters, and a look of sudden understanding crossed his face—

"So that's the plan? These aliens didn't create this Zujie just for some ideological game! Interesting—but this works perfectly for me!"

Feng Xue calculated the timing, then suddenly had an idea; he stood up and said:

"Little Xiao Lingdang, investigate the travel patterns of local Giant He Xing personnel!"

As he spoke, he moved toward the door—yet before his foot could step out, he glanced again at the number above his head and halted—

"No rush anyway—investigate first, then go after tonight…"

(End of Chapter)