Chapter 42 -42-Life Enhancement!

Chapter 42: Chapter42-Life Enhancement!

Grrrrr—

A highly untimely sound came from John’s stomach.

The living room fell silent for a moment.

John’s expression remained unchanged.

Alfred also acted as though he had heard nothing.

"Have you not had breakfast yet, sir?"

"I got back too late yesterday."

"I understand."

Alfred bowed slightly.

"I’ll prepare breakfast for you immediately."

John had been planning to wash up anyway.

After moving into the villa yesterday, he had entered the game almost immediately.

The food containers he had used were still lying around.

His suitcases remained piled in the living room.

Even his clothes had been casually tossed outside the bathroom.

Despite how expensive the house was, he had somehow managed to make it feel like a temporary shelter.

John took a shower and changed into a clean set of clothes.

Nearly an hour later, he returned to the first floor.

The dining room had been completely transformed.

The tabletop was so clean that it reflected the overhead lights.

Every food container and piece of trash left behind from the previous night had disappeared.

His luggage had also been sorted and organized.

Fried eggs, roasted meat, bread, vegetable salad, hot milk, and several kinds of fruit had been arranged across the long table.

The portions were generous, yet the combination did not feel overly greasy.

Standing beside the table, Alfred briefly introduced the meal.

"The kitchen and refrigerator have been reorganized."

"Should you have any dietary restrictions, you may inform me at any time, sir."

"None for now."

"Very well."

The old man did not linger.

"Please enjoy your meal."

"Call for me should you require anything."

With that, he quietly left the dining room.

He did not stand nearby and watch.

Nor did he repeatedly ask whether the food suited John’s taste.

His sense of discretion was perfect.

John took a bite of breakfast and nodded in satisfaction.

The money had been well spent.

...

After breakfast, John opened the network terminal.

Topics related to Apocalypse still firmly dominated the news rankings.

[A Permanent Blessing Has Appeared in Endbringer’s Trial Grounds—Some Players Have Already Raised Their Talents by Two Ranks!]

[Luna Wolf Guild Officially Established, Becoming the First Player Guild in Apocalypse!]

[Mysterious Player "Endbringer" Breaks Multiple Server-Wide Records in a Single Day!]

[Guild Creation Token Sold for More Than a Million Dollars!]

After obtaining the token, Luna Wolf had quickly established its guild.

The system had issued three Server-Wide Announcements.

Large numbers of posts applying to join Luna Wolf had already appeared on the forums.

Some people analyzed the guild’s membership structure.

Some speculated that Luna Wolf had official backing.

Even more players were discussing Endbringer’s Trial Grounds.

Screenshots of the briefs-wearing statue had already been turned into reaction images and were spreading wildly across every major platform.

Someone had even created a dedicated video.

Hundreds of players stood neatly before the statue and shouted in unison,

"Endbringer is the most handsome!"

The sight was truly spectacular.

John watched it twice before saving the video with satisfaction.

The only unusual development was Gray Ledger.

Yesterday, they had still been highly active on the forums and in the world channel.

Today, however, they had suddenly fallen silent.

They issued no public response to Luna Wolf obtaining the Guild Creation Token.

Nor did they continue protesting that Gray Ledger players were banned from entering Endbringer’s Trial Grounds.

The entire organization seemed to have collectively lost its voice.

The quieter they became, the more likely it was that they were preparing something.

John closed the terminal.

After briefly tidying himself up, he prepared to head out.

"Alfred."

The old man quickly emerged from the side hall.

"Sir."

"I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back tonight."

"Would you like me to arrange a vehicle for you?"

"No. I’ll drive myself."

"Very well."

John left the villa and walked to the neighboring house.

Zoey had said yesterday that she had purchased the property next door.

He raised a hand and rang the doorbell.

No one answered.

He rang it twice more.

There was still no movement inside.

"She still hasn’t logged out?"

John sent her a message, but received no response.

Who knew what that girl was up to now?

He did not continue waiting and turned toward the garage.

...

The old car slowly drove out of the residential community.

The instant it passed through the protective gate, the outside world darkened.

The sky was a suffocating gray-black.

Black snow continually struck the vehicle, producing a soft, dense rustling sound.

Every pedestrian along the road wore a gas mask.

Even when exposed to the outdoors for only a brief period, no one dared allow their skin to come into direct contact with the air.

John gripped the steering wheel.

A bold idea kept surfacing in his mind.

His real-world HP had increased by one thousand.

What exactly did that mean?

It would be difficult to test through ordinary methods.

But the black snow outside could provide the most direct answer.

He drove the car into a secluded back alley.

There were no shops nearby.

Even the surveillance cameras had long since broken down.

John remained seated inside the vehicle and spent several full minutes preparing himself mentally.

Then he opened the door.

Black snowflakes landed on the surface of his protective suit.

He raised a hand and removed his gas mask.

Cold air surged into his nostrils.

The very first breath caused John’s chest to tighten.

It felt as though countless tiny needles had pierced his lungs.

His breathing became rapid.

A burning pain spread through his chest.

His vision also began to sway slightly.

An intense wave of dizziness flooded his mind.

John braced himself against the car door.

"So it still doesn’t work?"

Just as he prepared to put the mask back on, the pain in his chest suddenly began to subside.

The second breath.

The stabbing sensation became noticeably weaker.

The third.

The dizziness rapidly faded.

Several seconds later, his breathing had completely returned to normal.

Cold air filled with radioactive dust continued entering his lungs.

Yet it no longer caused him any discomfort.

The black snow that landed on his face quickly melted.

His skin did not swell or redden.

Nor did any signs of corrosion appear.

Standing in the alley, John slowly took a deep breath.

He felt nothing at all.

"It really works..."

This was no longer a simple increase in HP.

His body seemed to have gained an absurd level of endurance and regenerative ability.

The moment damage from the black snow appeared, it was forcibly repaired.

As long as the rate of damage did not exceed his body’s recovery speed, he could simply ignore this lethal environment.

John suppressed his excitement and put the gas mask back on.

This ability could not be exposed yet.

If the United Council or a major research organization discovered it, there was a very real chance that he would be taken away for examination.

Whether that meant being placed under heavy protection or sliced apart for research was impossible to say.

Now was not the time to draw attention to himself.

With [Life Enhancement] verified, it was time to handle the real purpose of today’s trip.

He had moved in too much of a hurry yesterday.

There were still a few things left behind at his old residence.

...

John did not park directly beneath his former apartment building.

He stopped two blocks away, changed his coat and hat, and put on an ordinary pair of protective goggles.

As he walked, he opened the residential surveillance feed on his phone.

No strangers had appeared outside his old residence during the past dozen hours.

There were no suspicious individuals in the hallway either.

Only after confirming that it was safe did he enter the apartment through the rear entrance.

The room remained exactly as it had been when he left.

John carefully inspected every corner.

Several hours later, he finally gathered everything he needed to take with him.

There were no secret documents.

Nor were there any hidden accounts.

Most of the items were photo albums, letters, and old belongings left behind by the body’s original owner.

John returned to the car and opened the album resting at the top of the pile.

In the photographs, the original John had always looked somewhat restrained, from childhood all the way into adulthood.

His parents stood on either side of him.

His younger sister clung to his arm, smiling brightly at the camera.

"I’m sorry for taking over your body."

John gently ran a finger along the edge of the photograph.

"I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to return it to you."

"For now, I’ll keep these things safe in your place."

He continued flipping through the album.

A family photograph slipped out from between the pages.

As John looked at the family in the picture, his nose suddenly stung.