"Cluck, cluck, cluck!!!" Loud chicken crows rose and fell, like sharp alarms, almost piercing through the entire Nostra Manor.
At this moment, dawn had just broken. The sun hadn't even risen above the mountain yet. The piercing chicken crows came in waves, each higher than the last.
Kevin suddenly sat up in bed, a hint of bloodshot in his eyes, and couldn't help cursing, "Damn Begetto—he definitely knew this would happen. He's absolutely doing it on purpose! I should really kill those Golden Chickens!!"
After cursing a few times, he used Nen to block his ears and burrowed back under his blanket. Recently, he had been studying potion making every night, often staying up late, and was now extremely fatigued. Those damned Golden Chickens had incredibly strong penetrating calls.
While Kevin could do this, others didn't have the same ability. Light got up slowly, and even though his face had become gentler since taking over the company's affairs, at this moment, a hint of uncontrollable annoyance flashed across it. A beautiful morning should involve waking up naturally. But those damned chickens ruined everything. And he was clearly not the only one woken up; many people in the manor woke up at this moment. Sounds of annoyance and complaint were endless.
At the dining table in the restaurant, a few people were having breakfast.
"Wasn't Kevin woken up?" There was a rare hint of complaint in Light's words. Everyone else had been disturbed by the chicken crows, yet Kevin was completely unaffected—that seemed a bit unfair. It unbalanced people's moods.
"Perhaps he blocked his ears with Nen?" Rosana guessed uncertainly. She had always been casual about getting up early and didn't have much of a habit of sleeping in, which kept her mood very calm at this moment. However, the three young people at the table all had a somewhat listless look from lack of sleep.
"Those chickens are so annoying!" Neon said fiercely, gnawing on her bread. She had always slept until she woke up naturally.
Pairo suppressed the urge to complain. Just yesterday, when Neon saw those Golden Chickens, she exclaimed how beautiful they were and even wanted to raise one herself. Only one night had passed, and her attitude had gone from fondness to disgust.
Kurapika nodded incessantly. Though he didn't mind getting up early, the chicken's call was really annoying. It was completely different from ordinary chicken crows, with too much penetrating power, making people feel irritated.
When Kevin woke up and came to the open space in the manor, he saw Kurapika chasing chickens. At this moment, Kurapika was swinging a chain in his hand, relentlessly pursuing a Golden Chicken. The chain in his hand was not a Nen ability manifestation, but a real iron chain. He was practicing how to use the chain for combat, which was part of his training.
However, Golden Chickens were not ordinary creatures after all. As rare beasts, and capable of controlling Nen, their speed of movement and reaction to the outside world far surpassed that of ordinary people. For a moment, Kurapika was completely unable to do anything about this Golden Chicken. It made sense that Golden Chickens had never been caught by humans before. This was still within the manor; trying to catch them in the forest would be even more difficult.
The reason there were these three Golden Chickens in the manor was that Locke had come to the manor yesterday and brought the gold eggs along with the three Golden Chickens. And sending the Golden Chickens was Begetto's special arrangement.
Begetto had a total of twenty-three Golden Chickens. Though Golden Chickens were social creatures, their numbers should not be too large—otherwise, they would fight among themselves. This would not only increase management difficulty but also significantly extend the interval between egg production. So, Begetto sent the excess Golden Chickens to Kevin, under the guise of letting Kevin also participate. After all, in a way, this was also one of Kevin's spoils of war. Moreover, these Golden Chickens had already been trained when they were in the Spiral organization's hands, so there was no need to worry about them running around when free-ranging. These guys weren't ordinary chickens—they were smart.
It was precisely because of this that the manor now had these three Golden Chickens, and the deafening, annoying chicken crows every morning. One must admit, they lived up to being Golden Chickens—even their crows were much more exaggerated than ordinary chickens.
"Catch it, Kurapika!" Neon shouted loudly from behind. Kevin looked over at the sound and realized Neon's hair was a mess, with two golden feathers stuck in it. At this moment, she was fiercely shouting like a wolf, while Kurapika could only helplessly continue chasing the Golden Chicken.
Kevin found this scene quite novel and watched quietly from the side. He had to admit, Kurapika was indeed quite talented. From being unable to touch the Golden Chicken at all in the beginning to being able to entangle the Golden Chicken's leg with the chain now—this process perhaps took only a full half hour.
Neon no longer resented the Golden Chicken, but Kurapika had clearly taken this as a temporary training challenge. Even Pairo had joined this "chicken-catching battle."
"They're really working hard." Kevin couldn't help sighing—they could find opportunities to train themselves even at a time like this. Focused and determined guys were just different.
"Haha, this bug is more interesting." Neon's happy laughter came from a distance. She was sitting on the back of a Moving Bug, held up high, happily wandering around on the ground.
Kevin had casually raised some of these gentle bugs, thinking he might be able to use their materials later. And now the entire manor was full of construction sites, so these Moving Bugs came in handy and were very easy to use.
They were the right size, non-aggressive, and with the lure device and trained gestures, they knew how to move, put down, and follow. It couldn't be more convenient.
"Woohoo! Hahahahaha!" Light, on the balcony, heard his daughter's happy laughter and occasionally looked down, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face. He couldn't help once again feeling that his original decision was incredibly correct. With peers and these interesting things, Neon's life was no longer as boring and dull as before. Light knew he wasn't good at educating children; all he could do was dote on her. In the past, his doting hadn't brought a smile to his daughter's face. When he discovered his daughter showed special abilities, he admitted his initial thoughts were utilitarian, but ultimately, it was just a deeper form of doting on his daughter.
Fortunately, Neon had joined Kevin's small team. Here, she had peers, the motherly Rosana, and the rational and steady Kevin. In this environment, Neon gradually became a cheerful and lively child.
"Cluck, cluck, cluck!!" The piercing chicken call sounded again.
"Damn it! If only these chickens would shut up, this life would be perfect." The smile on Light's face instantly disappeared.
"I hope Kevin likes the gift I sent over." Inside the research base, Begetto looked at the breeding farm in front of him and grinned.
White Tree, whose eyes were dark-rimmed next to him, couldn't help rolling his eyes when he heard this and muttered, "These Golden Chickens' calls are so sharp and piercing—how do they survive in the wild? They should have been discovered long ago, right?"
"Are you an idiot? This kind of call is simply unbearable torture for many wild creatures. A few Golden Chickens crowing in turns is enough to drive away dangerous creatures in their territory, and maybe even help them hunt," Sant reasonably speculated from the side. This call was clearly aggressive, not a warning call. It was perfectly normal to reasonably speculate that it was a means of hunting and driving away enemies.
"Whatever—once they're bred, I'll give them all to Kevin. I really can't stand these damned chickens anymore," White Tree couldn't help muttering. As soon as he finished speaking, a chicken flew in and landed on his head.
"Inhale, exhale—I'm not angry." He took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress his emotions. These Golden Chickens were very smart and held grudges. If he provoked them, they might run to his bedside and crow tomorrow.
"Yeah, Boss, some researchers in the base are complaining too," Sant echoed from the side.
Begetto nodded. He had agreed with Kevin that he would help Kevin successfully breed these Golden Chickens, ensure they laid eggs normally, and establish reasonable farming procedures and various farming environment standards. With the information obtained before, completing this task was not difficult. Afterward, some Golden Chickens would be returned to their former habitat, and the selected laying hens could be given to Kevin.
The farming process wasn't difficult. It just required preparing suitable food and a relatively spacious area. Of course, finding unfertilized eggs in a spacious area was also a troublesome task, but this would clearly not be a difficulty. Let Kevin endure the daily "torture" of their constant squawking—he had had enough. He had become disillusioned with the once fantastical rare beasts.
Just then, a research scholar walked over. "Begetto, come take a look—one of the eggs isn't right."
"Not right?" Begetto was a bit confused and followed the person to the incubation room.
In the incubation room, golden eggs were neatly arranged. Begetto quickly found the unusual golden egg. This golden egg was noticeably larger than the others, but he clearly remembered that when he received the golden eggs, they were all similar in size, and any difference was within the normal range—extremely subtle.
"What's going on? How did it suddenly get bigger?" Begetto came to check every day, multiple times a day, and often conducted data research and recording here. It was fine when he came yesterday.
The researcher next to him handed over the observation records from last night and played the accelerated surveillance footage. Begetto studied it carefully for a long time but couldn't come up with any useful conclusions, only seeing that this golden egg had inexplicably grown bigger overnight. Neither the environment nor the egg itself showed abnormal data changes.
"Are the data readings the same as the other golden eggs?" Begetto asked.
The researcher nodded. "That's right. Though this egg looks different, after various inspections, it is essentially no different from other golden eggs."
Another apprentice frowned and asked, "Could it be a mutation? After all, this is a Golden Chicken." One couldn't judge it based on normal creatures.
Begetto also thought of this point, but then shook his head. "Let's observe it again." Perhaps this egg's incubation speed was the fastest, and maybe the process of Golden Chicken incubation was normal. None of these could be determined. Only after normal incubation could a conclusion be drawn.
Inside Nostra Manor, on the training ground, Kevin looked at the few people in front of him. On the table next to him, there was a pile of high-calorie food. Kevin held a potion in his hand—the Digestive Potion. This potion was of great significance to Kevin. His current strong physical foundation was largely due to this potion. In just over half a year of using it, his physical foundation had been strengthened to near its limit.
However, the price of this potion for external sale was only ten million. The reason was that the potion's effect varied from person to person. For others, it was far less significant than it was for Kevin.
At this stage, besides Kevin, the person who got the best effect from using the Digestive Potion was Buhara. This was because the potion was highly compatible with Buhara's Nen ability. Buhara's Nen ability was related to the fat stored in his body. The potion could quickly help him digest food, thereby storing more fat. Of course, it also had the effect of strengthening training and exercising the body, but this was mainly because Buhara was an Enhancement user.
Kevin had given this potion to many people. Bisky refused to use it because her body had already reached a certain limit—as for whether it was true, no one delved into it. After Mori used it, the effect of high-intensity training increased by about three to five times, which was already a considerable effect. Buhara's training with the help of the Digestive Potion had a stable effect of more than four times. The effect of others after using it did not exceed three times.
Overall, based on individual differences, the usage effect was roughly as follows: Enhancement users got the best effect. If the Enhancement user's Nen ability was related to physique, the effect was even better. Next were Emission and Transmutation users. The effects of other systems varied.
Essentially, the Digestive Potion belonged to the Enhancement-type potion, and the training effect it brought was essentially an incidental effect. And in terms of physical training, Enhancement users already had an advantage, so these differences could be explained. Kevin's use of this potion was much better than others because he had another Nen ability—Blank Meteor. Just like after drinking the Strength Potion, he could remember the feeling of increased potential Nen, and then accelerate the training effect of increasing potential Nen during training. In terms of physical training, Blank Meteor showed a similar effect.
As Kevin's research on potions deepened, especially after customizing a potion for Pairo before, he discovered some differences. The essence of the Digestive Potion was to help the food in the body digest quickly, convert it into energy, and store it. During extreme training, this energy could be quickly converted into the nutrients needed for physical growth. This point was the main reason for the multiplied training effect—it lay in how fast and efficient your body's absorption of this energy and nutrients was.
Because it was essentially a change brought about by Enhancement, Enhancement users had the best effect during training, and their physical quality was also higher than other levels. But if it exceeded a certain time, these energies would be converted into fat. At that time, the Digestive Potion would instead become a "fattening potion." Then the effect of training would be greatly reduced.
However, there were differences in human physique, and this subtle difference determined the different training effects. Similarly, whether the energy converted by the Digestive Potion could quickly become the nutrients needed for training also varied depending on individual physique. The standard Digestive Potion was made based on Kevin himself, so it was naturally very suitable for him. It could even be said that all potions were based on Kevin himself. But for others, the effect depended on the similarity to Kevin's physique. The more similar the physique was to Kevin's, the better the effect of use. It was just that the fluctuation of some potions was very subtle—a completely acceptable change.
And what Kevin held in his hand at this moment was a potion specially made for Kurapika.
"Come on, Kurapika, this is the only way to become stronger." Kevin said, raising the potion in his hand. The few people next to him all turned their eyes to him.
Kurapika swallowed nervously and walked to the mountain of food with a look of determination. "Do I have to eat all of this?" Facing these high-calorie foods, eating a little might be enjoyable, but eating too much would only make people feel nauseous. They had experienced this before when testing the effects of the Digestive Potion.
"If you can't bear the hardship of the potion, you have to bear the hardship of life." Kevin said with a smile.
Hearing this, Kurapika showed a look of determination on his face and began to grab the high-calorie food and eat it wildly. Various sweet tastes spread in his mouth, but as the amount of food increased, his body began to react, and he was already dry heaving.
"I, ugh—I can't do it anymore." Kurapika said, gasping for breath and holding his stomach. At this time, less than half of the food in front of him had been eaten.
"To have a strong body, you must first train a good appetite." Kevin commented, and directly injected Kurapika with a shot of the Digestive Potion specially made for him. After the potion was injected into his body, Kurapika's slightly bulging belly subsided at a speed visible to the naked eye.
During the effect of the Digestive Potion, his skin became smooth and moisturized.
"My skin is better!" Rosana's eyes lit up, and Neon's eyes next to her also sparkled. Now Kurapika's skin looked moisturized and shiny, and coupled with his naturally fair complexion, it looked like a young girl's skin.
"Keep eating. Within the half hour that the potion lasts, you have to eat all the remaining food."
Kurapika nodded and continued to eat silently. During the continuous effect of the potion, the feeling of fullness disappeared, but the sweet and greasy taste still made him feel uncomfortable.
Soon, half an hour passed. At this time, Kurapika's body surface seemed coated with a layer of oil, shining brightly.
Pairo silently pulled away from Kurapika. Rosana's expression changed from curiosity to worry, her gaze falling on Kevin.
Kevin had never encountered this situation before. After all, such a situation had never occurred when using potions previously, but this time it was a specially made potion, so some different changes were reasonable.
"Cough, cough—everything is under control. Don't worry."
"Really?" Kurapika looked at his oily skin and couldn't help asking.
"Don't worry, I'm a professional when it comes to potions!" Kevin emphasized.
Finally, Kevin cleared his throat and said seriously, "It's just that the effect might be a little bit better than I expected. So now you need to train like crazy to convert the energy stored in your body into the nutrients needed for physical growth. You must make full use of the energy you eat, otherwise this energy will be stored."
"What happens if it's stored?" Rosana asked.
"It will turn into—fat."
In the past, there was no need to worry about this problem. After all, fifteen minutes plus the food eaten before—even high-calorie food—could be digested in subsequent short-term training. But this time the effect seemed particularly good, and it might be necessary to increase the training intensity. Even so, there might still be energy left over.
"No, Kurapika, go for it!" Neon was the first to disagree and shouted loudly. She didn't want to see a fat Kurapika.
Kurapika also immediately took action. Being too fat would affect his movement. With everyone's assistance and observation, he began performing high-intensity, exaggerated training. He seemed tireless, sweating profusely. The sweat mixed with the oil on his skin, which made people feel a little disgusted. However, as training continued, the oil gradually faded.
Finally, in the early morning of the next day, Kurapika collapsed from exhaustion. Then, in a way visible to the naked eye, the remaining unused energy was converted into fat. Kurapika's cheeks became slightly rounder, and some parts of his body also grew some flesh.
"Fortunately, fortunately." Rosana said, patting her chest. In her opinion, her son had become cuter. He hadn't become unrecognizable.
Neon also nodded in agreement, thinking it was acceptable. Even this change made Kurapika's whole demeanor softer and cuter. He just got a little fatter, and the change was so obvious. Perhaps it was because Kurapika used to be excessively thin?
Pairo next to him blushed. He really wanted to laugh, but he was too embarrassed to laugh out loud. Because at this time, Kurapika had a bit of baby fat and a slight potbelly—it was truly too amusing. He had already decided to secretly take a photo of Kurapika's appearance.
"A Digestive Potion specially made for individuals—the effect is comparable to what Enhancement users get." Kevin, who had been observing, murmured to himself. The idea was correct.