Chapter 182 - 133: Static Apnea with Technology

’A way to actively control Adrenaline secretion?’ Chen Jue was stunned as he looked at the new notification on his panel.

He had triggered enhanced Adrenaline secretion several times before while high-altitude Climbing. He never expected that just by auditing a single research presentation, this passive hormone secretion would evolve into an active one.

If word of this got out, the entire medical, biological, and even athletic communities would be shocked into Muggles. They’d probably want to capture Chen Jue and slice him up for research.

This was because most hormones in the human body are secreted passively, only being released at specific times and under specific physiological conditions.

As for a hormone like Adrenaline, its function is to stimulate the heart, increasing myocardial contractility, accelerating heart rate, and raising blood pressure. In the medical field, it’s even used as a life-saving drug for CPR.

Even top athletes had to warm up before their hormone levels would rise, gradually bringing their bodies into a state of excitement.

Chen Jue, on the other hand, could actively control his Adrenaline secretion, as if he had a built-in switch.

Flip the switch, and he’d grant himself a temporary buff, increasing his Three-dimensional Attributes slightly.

Although the Attribute increase wasn’t huge, and its effect couldn’t compare to specialized supplements like pre-workouts, for Chen Jue, it was already incredibly powerful and heaven-defying.

’That academic fanatic Zhou Chuan really is my lucky star!’

’Last time, listening to his explanation triggered the courage function of my gallbladder, and now I’ve gained an Adrenaline secretion function.’

’If I read all his research projects and papers, I wonder how many new panel functions I could unlock,’ Chen Jue muttered to himself, a hint of anticipation growing within him.

「...」

Zhou Chuan’s research presentation lasted for over an hour, and Chen Jue listened with great interest.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, the large lecture hall erupted in thunderous applause.

Even the few teachers and professors sitting in the front row were impressed by Zhou Chuan’s well-researched and cited paper. They went up to congratulate him on his publication in a foreign journal.

For a student at Jiang University, regular course credits were just the basics. The real High-level academic pursuit was getting published in international journals to boost their SCI impact factor.

As Chen Jue was just an auditor and a slacker who had graduated from a vocational college, he didn’t understand the professional circles of these top students.

As long as he could learn something useful about the human body, he was content.

Seeing Zhou Chuan surrounded by a group of teachers and professors, Chen Jue didn’t go over to disturb him. He glanced at the time—it was already noon—and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

The temporary Attribute buff gained from the Adrenaline secretion clearly had some significant side effects.

Besides an increased heart rate, it also accelerated the body’s consumption of nutrients.

Because as the Temporary Attribute faded, Chen Jue felt much hungrier than usual, and his entire body felt a bit weak.

After a hearty meal at the cafeteria, he hurried back to his apartment for a nap.

When he woke up, it was already past 2 PM. Chen Jue glanced at his training schedule; this afternoon’s training was Swimming again.

So, after taking his pre-workout, he put on his 27kg weights and jogged to the swimming pool.

Perhaps because he had been grinding Attributes so intensely these past few days, his Strength and endurance had increased rather quickly. The 27kg weight he was carrying was starting to feel a little light.

Fortunately, the weighted jog was still effective. After a 15-minute jog to the pool, the panel rewarded him with 0.02 Free Attribute points.

He changed into his swimming trunks, put in his earplugs, and first went to the shower area to rinse off and acclimate to the water temperature. Then, Chen Jue entered the swimming venue.

Since it was winter, the heaters in the natatorium were WHIRRING loudly.

Coach Wang, whom he had seen last time, was still by the side of the competition pool, drilling Ma Qiang and the other members of the Jiang University swim team with a stern expression.

Aside from injuries or weekend breaks, student-athletes like them were basically training every day. Their daily workout intensity was actually no less than Chen Jue’s.

The only difference was that they didn’t have a panel for real-time monitoring, so they couldn’t accumulate progress continuously and see their improvements as intuitively as Chen Jue could.

This was the limitation of ordinary people, and also the current limitation of the human species.

"Senior! You’re here again!"

Seeing Chen Jue appear by the poolside, Ma Qiang, who was still splashing in the water, immediately popped his head out and greeted him.

Chen Jue returned the greeting and then dove into the water, swimming a couple of laps to warm up.

Under the double buff of the pre-workout and Adrenaline, Chen Jue’s temporary Three-dimensional Attributes had increased by a total of 15%.

His Constitution Attribute alone had shot up to 2.30, a huge jump from his last swim session.

So, after getting used to the water with two laps in the 50-meter lane, he began his favorite event: underwater swimming.

Having learned the basics of Swimming before, Chen Jue already knew that the optimal technique for underwater swimming was a wide breaststroke pullout. He also knew to maintain momentum and minimize large limb movements to reduce oxygen consumption, allowing him to stay underwater longer and go farther.

So, he took a few deep breaths at the surface to maximize his oxygen intake, then took one final gulp of air, dove to the bottom, and kicked off the mosaic tiles of the pool wall with both feet. Under the watchful eyes of Coach Wang on the deck, Chen Jue began to propel himself forward in lane 8.

meters, 50 meters, 100 meters... When Coach Wang saw Chen Jue swim a full round trip in the competition lane without surfacing, his expression changed slightly.

’This kid’s improving really fast!’

’His form is much better than last time, and he even knows to load up on oxygen beforehand!’

’No wonder he can swim over 100 meters without coming up for air!’ Coach Wang thought in amazement, because he had been watching Chen Jue’s swimming technique improve with his own eyes.

When Chen Jue finally surfaced at the end of the lane after swimming 150 meters underwater without any equipment, not only Coach Wang but also Ma Qiang in the next lane were completely shocked.

"Holy shit! Senior, did you breathe pure oxygen before you went under?"

"I saw you swim three lengths in one breath without any gear. That’s almost at a professional freediver’s level!" Ma Qiang, who had just finished his set and was resting on the lane line, was in utter disbelief as he watched Chen Jue finish a 150-meter underwater swim without being red in the face or out of breath.

Compared to the 50 meters Chen Jue had managed last time, his underwater swimming distance had skyrocketed by a factor of three!

Even a sudden epiphany wouldn’t result in such a massive improvement!

It was like he was using a cheat code!

"Pure oxygen?"

"Does that help with underwater swimming?" Chen Jue asked, chatting with Ma Qiang during his break at the surface.

That long underwater swim had not only earned him 0.01 Constitution Attribute, but a notification for "+200" to his Swimming Skill Level also appeared.

’If I can do that a few more times, I’ll probably be able to level up the [Swimming] Skill again this afternoon.’

"It definitely helps!"

"The guys who go for static apnea records these days all breathe pure oxygen before getting in the water. They can hold their breath for over 20 minutes, like they’re possessed by some kind of frog demon."

"For normal swimmers like us, four or five minutes is our limit. The gap between us and them is huge," Ma Qiang said, mentioning the niche sport of breath-holding.

It was a sub-discipline that grew out of freediving, with categories for pure oxygen and normal air intake. It required athletes to perform a static breath-hold underwater after careful preparation.

During competitions, they have to wear professional blood oxygen monitors to track their O2 saturation in real-time, preventing accidents from holding their breath too long.

’Breathe pure oxygen and hold it for over 20 minutes?’

’Even if it’s static apnea, that’s still incredible!’ Chen Jue was completely floored after hearing this.

His 150-meter underwater swim had only taken a little over three minutes. If he had held his breath any longer, he would have suffocated.

It was hard to imagine professional athletes holding their breath for over 20 minutes. If he had that kind of lung capacity, swimming seven or eight hundred meters back and forth underwater would be a piece of cake.

’It seems the more advanced technology becomes, the more hope humanity has of breaking its physical limits.’

’If I used [Designated Points] to enhance my lungs, I wonder if I could hold my breath that long,’ Chen Jue mused. After chatting with Ma Qiang for a bit longer, he took another deep breath and submerged himself again.

「...」

Compared to the awkwardness of his first time practicing, Chen Jue was much more proficient on his second visit.

Moreover, by constantly asking Ma Qiang and Coach Wang for advice to correct his form during his breaks at the surface, Chen Jue’s [Swimming] Skill Level increased extremely quickly.

After about an hour of practicing underwater swimming, a new notification popped up on his panel:

——————

[Ding~]

[Skill Level has reached 100%. The skill’s Level is increasing.]

[Swimming Lv. 3 → Perfection]

[Your technique in the sport of Swimming has reached a point where it can no longer be improved. Your body is beginning to adapt to the underwater environment, and your swimming speed has greatly increased.]

[In the special high-pressure water environment, your cardiopulmonary function has been enhanced, your muscular endurance and explosive power have slightly increased, and the nerves in your hands and feet have undergone an adaptive transformation.]

[Constitution Attribute +0.01]

[Strength Attribute +0.01]

[Spirit Attribute +0.01]

——————

"Hooo... Haaa..."

’Not bad, another Max Level Skill! And the Attribute-gain efficiency is on par with the first time. As expected, due to the water pressure, physical fitness improves much faster than in a normal environment.’

’In wuxia novels, Yang Guo trained with his Profound Iron Heavy Sword in a pool beneath a waterfall. After he emerged, he went from a third-rate fighter to a top-tier master in the Jianghu. His training must have been based on a similar concept of using water pressure and resistance.’

’Huh? My palms aren’t getting swollen and wrinkly after being soaked in water anymore?’ Chen Jue surfaced, rubbing his fingers together in amazement.

His hands and feet, which used to wrinkle up even after a short shower or a medicinal bath, were now still smooth. Clearly, the long-term underwater training had caused some kind of neurological change in his body.