Chapter Three: Physical Enhancement
A flash of light swept across, and an ancient-looking bracelet appeared atop the computer keyboard. Wood hurriedly bit his middle finger and dripped a bead of blood onto the bracelet, then slipped it onto his left wrist. Instantly, a stream of information surfaced in his mind.
“Magical item: Storage Bracelet bound. Ownership confirmed. Cannot be dropped. Space capacity: 10 cubic meters. Limitation: Cannot store carbon-based lifeforms.”
Wood burst out laughing with delight. Though he thought the storage bracelet was a bit small, it was a gift offered with goodwill, and besides, such a thing was absolutely unique on Earth. Gu Feng remarked indifferently, “That’s nothing. In the Cultivation Realm, there are spatial rings known as Mustard Seed Worlds, which contain entire worlds unto themselves—capable of storing even living creatures. You’ll have the chance to obtain one for yourself in the future.”
As he spoke, Gu Feng fiddled with something on his hand and teased, “Wood, let me teach you something. Why is your system completely open? I can see all your physical stats and attributes at a glance. Wait, what’s this?” As he spoke, an AV video suddenly appeared on the computer screen, with Kaede Matsushima performing energetically, her voice echoing, “Yamete... oh... yamete!”
A few beads of sweat slid down Wood’s forehead as he was mortified. These were some AVs he’d collected in the past, and he hadn’t expected Gu Feng to access them remotely. He hurried to close the video, only to see Gu Feng nearly drooling. “Brother, I never thought you’d have such treasures. Heh! Is she your slave girl? How could you bear to... unless you have some rather unique tastes...”
Wood quickly explained, “Gu Feng, it’s a misunderstanding. These are just films I collected before, produced by the most successful AV industry in a certain island nation. You can look but never touch...” Hearing this, Gu Feng sighed in disappointment, “I see, I see. Still, these are quite... well, you know, something every man understands!” He gave Wood a knowing look.
An idea struck Wood. “Gu Feng, if you’re interested, I can send you a few. But since these are technological products, I’m not sure whether you’ll be able to play them in your realm.”
Gu Feng was delighted. “Good brother, send them over quickly! I haven’t interacted much with the Sci-fi Plane, but I do have movie players. I’m friends with the Biochemical Realm’s agent, and I trade some tech products with him!”
Following Gu Feng’s instructions, Wood transferred a few videos through the item trading interface. Gu Feng was overjoyed and said with a laugh, “Good brother, I see your physical attributes are too low. Let me have the Biochemical Realm agent send you something to help.”
With that, Gu Feng waved his hand, and another video window popped up on the screen. A figure of daunting size appeared on the feed—ugly by human standards, completely bald, his skin a corpse-like ashen gray, muscles bulging with arms over twenty centimeters thick. His right hand had exaggerated, massive fingers—no, not fingers, but enormous claws, each tipped with talons far longer than any fruit knife, so much so that it looked like a bundle of large blades lashed together.
“Gu, what do you want?” the being asked gruffly.
“Baldy, let me introduce you to a friend of mine—a newcomer who has just opened planar trade: Amu, the Basic Matter Plane Agent!”
Turning to Wood, he added, “This is my closest friend, the Agent of Star Seven in the Biochemical Plane!”
Baldy glanced at Wood and was surprised. “So we have a Basic Matter Plane Agent now? That’s rare! Just call me Baldy.”
He seemed straightforward enough, so Wood responded quickly, “Everyone calls me Wood. This is my first time using the Planar Trading System, so please take care of me.”
Before Baldy could reply, Gu Feng interjected, “Baldy, this brother is a newcomer, but his body stats are poor. I’d like you to give him a vial of safe T-virus to improve his physical qualities!”
“T-virus? Like Resident Evil?” Amu took a sharp breath. He recalled that blockbuster movie whose plot revolved around the T-virus—a virus designed to boost biological metabolism, though it would rapidly heal wounds and turn hosts into pain-insensitive ‘immortals,’ essentially human weapons.
Gu Feng’s sense of mischief made Amu uneasy—would he end up looking like this monstrous Baldy? Doubt flickered on Amu’s face.
His hesitation didn’t escape Gu Feng. “Brother, this is a good thing. Why aren’t you eager?”
Amu hurriedly replied, “Gu Feng, I know a bit about the T-virus, but isn’t infection supposed to turn people into zombies?”
Gu Feng frowned. “How could that be? I’ve used the T-virus myself and I’m fine.” He then looked at Baldy for confirmation.
Baldy explained, “Wood is referring to the Biochemical Plane’s early development. The first-generation T-virus was unsuccessful; most exposed lifeforms could move but lost higher brain function. But how could the Basic Matter Plane have the T-virus?”
“We don’t,” said Wood, “but our world did have a blockbuster film about a T-virus disaster.”
“Oh?” Baldy and Gu Feng exchanged looks, puzzled by this information. Finally, Gu Feng guessed, “Maybe your world once had biochemical technology, and some time-space resonance affected the brains of certain carbon-based lifeforms, inspiring the creation of such a film.”
Baldy nodded, “That’s plausible. It’s a complex theory, but our science acknowledges the possibility. Don’t worry, the T-virus is now virtually one hundred percent safe.”
Just then, a message appeared in the trading interface:
“T-virus, Biochemical Tech Item. Function: Gene Evolution. Usage: Injection.”
“Accept!” Without waiting for Dingdong’s mechanical prompt, Wood gave the command directly.
A flash of light, and a syringe filled with blue liquid appeared on the keyboard—clearly the T-virus.
“Don’t inject yet,” Gu Feng said, seeing Wood search for a vein. “This stuff will knock you out for several hours. Add us as planar friends first, so we can keep in touch!”
He sent over two energy crystals as well. “Planar Trading Systems are always energy-starved in the beginning. Here are two energy crystals—enough to last you a while!”
“Energy crystal detected: Store or absorb?” Dingdong asked.
“Absorb,” Wood replied, not yet knowing their use but letting Dingdong handle it.
“Absorbing... Low-grade energy crystal. Each fully charges the Planar Trading System. Agent may use freely. Note: Ten thousand energy points to upgrade to E-rank!”
“Oh! The upgrade requirement isn’t high.”
“Not high?” Baldy and Gu Feng exclaimed, “You have no idea how hard it is to level up! You’re at the lowest level, so E-rank seems easy. Wait until you try to reach B-rank—you’ll see.”
Wood calculated, “Currently at F-rank, next is E, then D. What rank are you?”
“We’re both A-rank,” Baldy replied. “It took decades to reach A-rank! Above us are S and SSS—our journey has only begun.”
“Decades?” Wood was stunned. These two didn’t look that old—could it really have been so long?
Gu Feng explained, “The greatest advantage of being a Planar Agent is access to all sorts of rare items that bestow youth and longevity. Once your system reaches A-rank, immortality is almost within reach. After all, being an agent isn’t easy. If you had to replace someone every few decades, the accumulated resources and contacts would be lost! For instance, after you inject the T-virus, your lifespan will increase significantly. When you reach S-rank, you’ll be able to trade for a Divine Core—then you’ll be truly immortal.”
A Divine Core? Another artifact straight out of fantasy novels.
“Is that easy to get?” Wood asked.
“It’s a rare resource! I haven’t found one yet myself. Help me keep an eye out!”
The three chatted a while longer, added each other as planar friends, and then closed the communication. Dingdong advised that energy was precious and should be conserved.
Staring at the blue liquid, Wood was still nervous—what if this turned him into a zombie?
“T-virus, Biochemical Tech Item. Safe,” Dingdong’s voice reassured him.
“Dingdong, you can appraise these items?” Wood was delighted.
“Item appraisal is one of the Planar Trading System’s functions. The higher the system’s level, the more items it can appraise and the higher the success rate!”
With Dingdong’s appraisal, Wood finally relaxed. He picked up the syringe and injected it into his arm’s vein. Soon after, his head grew heavy. Glancing at his reflection, he saw his own face pale and bloodless, drawing a bitter smile as he decided to lie down in bed.
For a while, his heart suddenly stopped, the brief lack of oxygen sapping all his strength. A tingling, itchy sensation spread through his body, as if his cells were being devoured by something. His heart pounded at a rate of at least two hundred beats per minute, making him feel utterly wretched while a strange new power surged within him. Wood realized the T-virus was taking effect. Drowsiness overtook him, his mind grew heavier, and soon he lost consciousness...