NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Transformation
With the help of the original body's memories, Qin Mu learned quickly, and his punching power improved significantly. After a day of repeated exploration, the best result in the punching test was 786kg, with a speed of 25.26m/s. This performance was about 30kg stronger than the original body's best, and the speed had already met the minimum requirement for a prospective fighter. The original body had been adept at speed, just a hair's breadth away from the prospective fighter standard.
"My punching power has indeed increased, and my speed has already met the requirements. If only my injuries were healed, the results could be even better," Qin Mu thought, satisfied. Although it was only a 30kg increase in strength, it meant that his strength had truly improved. He sensed the larva at home, which was still feeding continuously.
"Once the Zerg larva transforms into a worker bug, it will feedback its strength, and reaching 900kg is not impossible," Qin Mu felt a surge of excitement.
However, this test also revealed a serious issue. After crossing over, although Qin Mu had inherited all the original body's memories, he was just an ordinary person in his previous life, without any training. Adding to that, the effects of his internal injuries caused his movements to always be deformed.
Simply put, his mind knew what to do, but his body didn't. This was just for simple punching techniques. For more complex movements like footwork and spear techniques, it would likely be even worse. The solution to this problem was only one: practice, repeated practice, until it became instinctual.
"I must familiarize myself with the techniques and footwork as soon as possible," Qin Mu vowed. He would not allow himself to be eliminated because of poor basics, even if his physical fitness met the requirements.
He did not continue testing his strength and speed. As for his neural reaction speed, he knew without testing that it would be terrible, so Qin Mu decided to practice his spear techniques and footwork first before testing again.
He walked to the door of the weapons room next to the practice hall. Pushing the door open, he entered the weapons room, where a variety of weapons were displayed: swords, spears, sabers, halberds, axes, hammers, and so on, eighteen types of weapons in total.
The original body had practiced with spears. Following his memories, Qin Mu picked up a spear he used to use. It was a Vanquisher Series 2 long spear, made entirely of special alloy, with a hard yet flexible shaft. Qin Mu was 182cm tall, and the spear was slightly taller than him. Of course, this was not a true Vanquisher Series 2 long spear, but a replica. It was similar in weight and appearance, not suitable for actual combat but excellent for practice.
The spear was known as the king of weapons, and as a long weapon, it had a great advantage against monsters, making it the weapon of choice for many fighters. Even Hong, the world's strongest fighter, used a spear.
Holding the Vanquisher spear, Qin Mu swung it a few times, feeling a surge of excitement. Qin Mu began to practice according to his memories. There were many types of spear techniques, with basics including thrusting, stabbing, slapping, beating, wrapping, circling, blocking, grabbing, pouncing, pointing, parrying, and flourishing. Among these, blocking, grabbing, and thrusting were the fundamental movements. Qin Mu practiced these three techniques.
The words of the martial arts instructor from his memories echoed in his ears. Thrusting with the spear should be straight and swift, with the force reaching the tip of the spear, making it a single line of attack. The spear should be thrust like a dragon emerging from water and retracted like a tiger entering its cave.
After practicing for a while, Qin Mu still felt unfamiliar. Although he had integrated the original body's memories and knew what to do in his mind, his hands and feet couldn't keep up, and his movements were always deformed, feeling awkward.
"A month for staff, a year for saber, a lifetime for spear. It seems it's not easy to master the spear," Qin Mu thought. As he continued to practice, Qin Mu slowly found a sense of it.
"Oh, Brother Mu, it's been a long time since I've seen you training. Are your injuries better?"
As time passed, some familiar students also came to practice and noticed Qin Mu, who was training hard. Qin Mu looked up, stopped his spear practice, and replied with a smile.
"They're better. I haven't exercised for too long and have gotten rusty," Qin Mu said.
Half a year ago, everyone knew about the incident where Qin Mu had been taken away by an ambulance after overtraining at the Limit Dojo. After that injury, Qin Mu rarely visited the dojo because he couldn't train. The person who spoke chatted casually for a few sentences before they each went back to their training.
Throughout the day, besides a few familiar faces who showed concern for Qin Mu, he devoted all his energy to training and did not encounter any pretentious or confrontational situations. During the training, although his body was still uncomfortable, as long as he didn't exert full force, it was bearable.
By the evening, Qin Mu was exhausted and returned home. After a simple wash and a quick meal, Qin Mu collapsed onto his bed.
"This is too awesome." Although his body was tired, Qin Mu's heart was exhilarated. The feeling of mastering strength was too captivating, especially the sensation of gradually becoming stronger, which was even more exciting.
The progress of the Zerg larva's feeding was also encouraging. Most of the 300 pounds of single-horned wild boar meat had been eaten, and the energy accumulation for the worker bug had reached 3 points. At this rate, by the next morning, there would be enough energy for the transformation. With excitement, Qin Mu fell asleep.
The next day, Qin Mu woke up before five o'clock, even before the alarm clock rang.
"Indeed, there's enough energy accumulated for the transformation into a worker bug," Qin Mu thought. The 300 pounds of single-horned wild boar meat were almost gone, and the arm-sized larva's abdomen was slightly bulging. These meats were digested and transformed into a high-energy density liquid stored in its body. Now, with just a command, the larva, which had accumulated 6 energy points, could transform into a worker bug.
Qin Mu brought the larva to the living room and cleared a large enough space, eager to begin.
"Transform into a worker bug," Qin Mu thought. As soon as the thought appeared, the larva's body began to rapidly expand. Like inflating a balloon, it formed a cocoon that pulsed like a heart. With each pulsation of the cocoon, it grew at a visible speed. In just fifteen minutes, the arm-sized larva became a cocoon one meter and a half tall and nearly one meter wide.
With a sound of rupture, a strange bug curled up inside the cocoon crawled out. This bug resembled a giant ant, with a terrifying appearance, a body length of nearly two meters, six legs, a pair of large pincers at its mouth, and a thick shell on its back. This was the worker bug, the most basic unit of the Zerg race, a support unit for collecting resources and incubating various Zerg structures.
Although not a combat unit, the worker bug still had considerable strength. The worker bug weighed over 300 pounds, its shell could resist light weapon fire, and it could easily lift objects dozens of times its own weight. Its speed was slightly lacking, but its overall strength was at least that of an H-level monster.
The moment the worker bug broke out of the cocoon, Qin Mu clearly felt a strong warm current flowing through his body, limbs, and bones.
"The transformation is successful. My strength has indeed increased, and my injuries have healed a lot," Qin Mu clenched his fist, feeling the enhanced strength within him, his heart filled with excitement.
"I'll go to the dojo later to test if I've reached the prospective fighter level," Qin Mu smiled. "But now, I need to buy some meat. The worker bug needs enough energy to transform into a mother nest."
"According to the worker bug's memory, transforming from a worker bug to a mother nest requires 500 energy points, meaning the worker bug needs to consume at least 50,000 pounds of regular pork or 25,000 pounds of single-horned wild boar meat to transform into a mother nest."
Qin Mu did a quick calculation, and his mouth twitched.
Even buying cheap regular pork, 50,000 pounds of pork was 25 tons, which would cost six or seven hundred thousand yuan even at wholesale prices. If he bought single-horned wild boar meat, it would cost at least six or seven times that.
With this calculation, Qin Mu realized that his money was far from enough.