Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups-Chapter 270 - 202: The Legend of Gufeng Temple_2

"The warrior turned monster completely lost his sanity, roaring and pouncing on the soldiers beside him, his sharp teeth and claws tearing flesh and spattering blood."

"Meanwhile, other soldiers swallowed by the black fog mutated one after another into man-eating ghouls, with the remaining unmutated soldiers terrified beyond measure. They had never witnessed such a terrifying scene, causing immediate chaos in their ranks as they scattered in every direction, but how could they escape the frenzied pursuit of those monsters?"

"Then, just like a cycle of cause and effect, those warriors who had just raised their swords against the monks also suffered a catastrophic disaster, and the entire Gufeng Temple fell completely into a Ghost Domain..."

Listening to him recount a thrilling secret from history, Fang Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly, a trace of contemplation flashing in his eyes, before he asked:

"What happened later? How did the court handle these mutated warriors turned ghouls?"

"Later on, upon receiving the news, the court realized that ordinary soldiers could not handle these monsters. Hence, they assembled the power of several dozen clans at that time, slaughtered these ghouls one by one, and excavated the Underground Palace tomb, sealing all evil spirits within. Afterwards, they ordered the area to be heavily sealed off, forbidding anyone from approaching it."

The Smiling Demon spoke unhurriedly, his voice slightly hoarse, as if narrating a long-forgotten dream.

"As time went by, centuries passed, dynasties changed, new rulers came to power, and the folk Buddhist and Taoist beliefs quietly resurged. Good-hearted believers raised funds to rebuild the Gufeng Temple not far from the old site."

"After the new temple was completed, it seemed that the bloody and eerie past only remained in the oral traditions of the local people, becoming a chilling legend. Even as years went by, the legend gradually transformed and was completely forgotten."

Having heard this story, Fang Cheng vaguely guessed something and couldn’t help asking:

"How do you know these things so clearly?"

"What if I said, every night I repeatedly dream about these scenes, would you still believe me? Or, would you think this story is just a delusion from my mentally unstable state?"

The Smiling Demon stopped walking, slightly tilting his head to look at Fang Cheng.

"I believe what you said."

Fang Cheng casually responded.

Hearing this, the Smiling Demon revealed a slight smile, and then continued:

"Over time, due to war and fire among other reasons, Gufeng Temple suffered slight destruction, was relocated and rebuilt, and gradually moved from the mountain peak to the mountain waist, far away from the old site."

"More than two months ago, the archaeological team discovered the site of the beheaded Buddha statue, which is the location of the Underground Palace. They accidentally damaged the seal, unleashing all the evil spirits within..."

Fang Cheng nodded comprehensively, saying solemnly:

"So, the source of that black rain is from the Underground Palace tomb in West Mountain, and Jiang Chen is that military commander who led the army to annihilate Gufeng Temple, who, by a twist of fate, escaped from the seal and became a monster two thousand years later."

The Smiling Demon’s eyes seemed to flicker with a cold glint, and his lips curled into a slightly mocking smirk:

"Heh, after two thousand years, even the king of ghouls has had his flesh rot into ashes, now merely a lonely soul and wild spirit struggling to survive on sheer obsession..."

Fang Cheng intently watched the Smiling Demon, pondering in his heart, yet his face remained expressionless as he remarked:

"Even if it’s just a lonely soul and wild spirit, the ability to retain consciousness over two thousand long years is certainly not to be underestimated..."

The Smiling Demon, upon hearing this, appeared to have a fleeting look of apprehension on his face.

This attitude of both disdain and fear, contradictory in nature, was observed by Fang Cheng, yet he chose not to point it out.

Some things, after all, since the other party doesn’t take the initiative to speak up, he also saw no need to inquire further.

However, at least a few things could now be confirmed.

First, at the time of the explosion incident in West Mountain, this fellow was definitely lurking around the scene or nearby.

Second, after Jiang Chen broke free, he had indeed made contact with him in some way, and their interactions were certainly not pleasant.

Third, as both Xu Fei and Chen Lei mentioned, Jiang Chen indeed possessed extraordinary means; even if his flesh was bombed into debris by missiles, his spirit did not disappear.

The two didn’t speak for a long moment, and the chat fell into dead silence once again.

The Smiling Demon suddenly seemed to have thought of something, a glint appearing in his eyes as he intently stared at Fang Cheng:

"I heard that the building you live in has been sealed off by the police for several days. Could it be that you were mistaken for Jiang Chen’s accomplice and sought after by the Special Search Team?"

Fang Cheng did not reply nor seemed surprised.

This guy often comes over to send autographs without a real reason, and he definitely keeps an eye on my situation regularly.

Given such an incident at the tubular building, he must have known it early on.

Seeing Fang Cheng’s silent, unlucky demeanor, Smiling Demon’s mouth corners involuntarily curved up, interest piqued, he said:

"How does it feel to be targeted by those hounds, pretty thrilling, huh? Did you come specifically to seek my help tonight?"

Initially, Fang Cheng didn’t want to bother with his sarcasm, but upon hearing that, his heart stirred, and he nodded sincerely:

"Apart from the Jiang Chen incident, I really want to know what methods the Special Search Team uses to distinguish us from ordinary people and find the traces of monsters in the vast crowd."

Hearing this, a subtle victorious glint passed through Smiling Demon’s eyes.

"Ha, the way Special Search Team discern humans from non-humans isn’t too complicated, just three methods..."

He wasn’t planning to be a tease; knowing Fang Cheng’s temperament and that explaining this would not be detrimental to him.

Thus, he slightly raised his chin, his sinister aura intensifying, and with a slightly hoarse voice, he answered readily:

"The first method is to observe the subject’s pupils."

"Normal humans’ pupils, under stable light, remain mostly constant in size and have a smooth, even coloration."

"But for us superhumans, as soon as abilities are used, the pupils, like those of a awakened beast, change in an instant - greatly dilating or contracting, and the coloration also becomes eerie; however..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping towards Fang Cheng, a playful light flickering in his eyes.

"This method has its limitations; as long as the subject is alert and deliberately maintains a calm disposition and contained spirit, keeping their aura hidden well, it is quite difficult for others to notice any anomaly."

Fang Cheng slightly nodded. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

This point, he had experienced it himself and wearing glasses added an extra layer of security.

"The second method involves the Special Search Team specifically raising certain ’Search Dogs’ to sniff out targets hidden among the population."

Then, he slightly tilted his head and continued in a somewhat disdainful tone:

"These aren’t the literal hunting dogs, but rather the five types of Predators I have told you about, captured alive by the Special Search Team and tamed through special methods to be used as hunting dogs."

"They are extremely sensitive to the unique aura emitted by their own kind; even if one suppresses all abilities and camouflages well to blend with ordinary people, those Search Dogs can still sense the presence from afar with their exceptional sense of smell, spontaneously pursuing the targets and alerting the Special Search Team members."

"As for the third method, it falls within the medical domain—mainly through physical examinations and comprehensive screening, with the main approach being blood sampling to test if the RC cell count in the blood is within the normal range..."

"RC cells?"

Fang Cheng couldn’t help but blurt out.

In a flash, he remembered the conversation between the doctors he had overheard outside the window that night.

"Yes."

Smiling Demon nodded his head and said in a deep voice: "Testing the RC cell count within a human body is the most precise way to determine the extent of mutation."

"Ordinary humans have a value generally below 500, Special Search Team members injected with enhancing potions range from 500 to 1000, offspring of prominent families can maintain around 1000, and predators like us are generally over 1000, and many even exceed 2000."

"The higher the RC cell count, the stronger the physical constitution, the greater the regenerative ability, the higher the level as a Predator, and correspondingly, the higher the chances of losing mental control."

"This means, as long as the RC cell value in your body exceeds the limit, you will definitely transform from a human to a non-human, ultimately becoming a thorough monster."