Chapter 19 - 18 Racing Against Time

Chapter 19: Chapter 18 Racing Against Time

"Wow, even the effects of the auxiliary abilities are excellent..."

As he followed the team forward, Tao Yu focused his mind on some flowers and plants nearby. Soon after, he could instinctively gain a certain understanding of those plants.

There were no words or images to describe it, but the information allowed him to understand the general properties of the plants—mainly, whether they were edible, poisonous, or had some therapeutic effects on his current physical state—just some basic information.

While not much information, Tao Yu felt it was completely sufficient. It undeniably made some of the knowledge he had accumulated more effective and allowed him to be safer in external environments.

He could even determine if someone was trying to poison him.

Fifty Yuan Force units for a Deification skill, who needs a bicycle?

With possible future enhancements, or as his proficiency with the skill improved, perhaps he could gain even better effects.

Because of the pressure from the potential presence of facehuggers, Tao Yu took some dried snake meat from Zhang Wei and munched on it while following the team, all the while focusing on accelerating his proficiency in "Basic Breathing Technique - Modified"!

Yuan Force's acceleration typically needed to target a specific skill.

If one had the ability to multitask, it was also possible to accelerate multiple skills at the same time, but this would consume more Yuan Force. It wouldn't save on Yuan Force cost but could save a bit on time.

But Tao Yu wasn't worrying about that right now. He kept to the rhythm of the breathing technique, accelerating his practice of "Basic Breathing Technique - Modified," all while continuously gnawing on the dried snake meat.

Qi-blood tumbled inside his body, circulating throughout. With each circulation, he felt a slight enhancement, a tangible effect each time!

While chewing, he also took the opportunity to complete a few shots, improving his proficiency in "Basic Shooting - Modified."

"'Bullet Time' enhanced by 'Dynamic Vision' makes shooting practice improve much faster than the breathing technique. No wonder talent is everything for most people..."

Tao Yu was merely firing a couple of shots at some nearby leaves and branches in passing, with the main Yuan Force acceleration applied to the breathing technique, but his shooting abilities were improving even faster!

Ratatat~

A three-shot burst hit the base of a branch thirty meters away. Wood splinters flew as the branch broke off and fell.

Now, even though he had increased his consumption rate to ten times per hour, the diminishing effectiveness of the Breathing Technique itself, along with the reduced Acceleration multiples after getting stronger, meant Tao Yu no longer felt he was undergoing constant transformation.

The law of diminishing returns was hitting hard.

After all, the description for Basic Breathing Technique - Modified was just 'it can increase the physical upper limit to a certain extent,' which, while far better than the unmodified Breathing Technique, wasn't overly exaggerated. The main benefit was actually the active surge of Qi-Blood during a burst.

Continuing at this rate of increase, Tao Yu estimated that when he used up all the Yuan Force points for Acceleration, he might just barely reach a level comparable to an Olympian all-around, being able to run a hundred meters in about ten seconds would be pretty good.

Uh, but because it was an all-around increase, he could almost achieve this level even with weights on, and he could keep it up for longer...

However, looking at the speed of proficiency improvement, the Basic Breathing Technique - Modified should soon reach lv2, and the surge from the instantaneous burst of Qi-Blood would increase a bit more.

Due to his talent, shooting had already reached lv2. After getting used to the gun he was holding, he could ensure a decent hit rate despite the unpredictable trajectory.

"Another increase in burst capability, it feels like I'm getting more and more off track," Tao Yu muttered as he chewed on another pile of snake meat, feeling slightly helpless. While it's true that most life-or-death situations are decided in an instant, he couldn't help feeling that there was something odd about it—wasn't the dream of every man to be a muscular, enduring powerhouse?

"We're getting close, stay alert," Wino's voice came from up ahead, and the team's pace slowed a tad more, everyone heightening their vigilance.

Thanks to Tao Yu sporadically firing a shot now and then, this tactic of alerting potential threats worked in their favor, allowing them to avoid minor troubles along the way.

Tao Yu, meanwhile, had stopped his shooting practice and occasionally looked around.

He had already reached lv2 in shooting; it was time to stop wasting bullets.

And after firing the gun for so long, he wondered if they might attract something prematurely.

For normal animals, and even for pythons, an unknown sound warranted evasion first and foremost, an instinct for survival etched into their genes by nature.

But...

For some other abnormal creatures, perhaps it was a different story.

If it weren't for the facehuggers, where would I have borrowed so much from, eh? You guys better think of something...

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