It was late at night by the time he got home.
Lin Ye tiptoed as he opened the door. The living room was pitch black; his mother and sister should already be asleep.
He didn't dare turn on the lights, fumbling his way into the bathroom in the dark. He peeled off the T-shirt, stained with the blood of mutated rats and cockroach fluids, and tossed it directly into a basin to start washing it.
The stench of the garbage dump, mixed with the smell of blood, was almost suffocating.
He had to wash away all traces, lest his mother discover anything tomorrow and worry unnecessarily.
'I was too impulsive today, rushing in without any protection. I have to prepare some protective gear for next time.'
The cold water washing over his body helped to cool his over-excited mind.
'The garbage dump is a decent starting zone, but I can't keep going there forever.'
'The environment is too harsh, and it's easy to run into other people.'
'If I keep going for ten days or half a month, the people responsible for clearing out mutated creatures from the garbage disposal plant will probably start spreading urban legends.'
More importantly, after a full day, Lin Ye realized there were just too few "monsters" in the garbage dump.
'Not enough for me to kill.'
'I need to broaden my horizons... those abandoned air-raid shelters, old sewer systems, and that dilapidated district on the outskirts of the city...'
'Places like those must also be hiding similar mutated creatures.'
'They're all my future Leveling Areas.'
After his shower, Lin Ye lay on his bed, feeling comfortable all over.
Lin Ye sank into his consciousness and opened his panel again.
[Host: Lin Ye]
[Race: Goblin]
[Level: LV2 (3/400)]
[Life Value: 128/128]
[Energy Value: 57/57]
[Physical Strength Value: 112/112]
[BOSS Mechanism: Healing out of combat (White)]
[Current Phase: P1, other phases not unlocked]
[Strength: 12.6]
[Agility: 11.3]
[Endurance: 11.5]
[Spirit: 6.5]
[Free Attribute Points: 1]
[Skill Points: 1]
After leveling up, all his basic attributes had increased, and he had also been rewarded with 1 free attribute point and 1 skill point.
Lin Ye decided not to use the free attribute point for now.
He still wasn't sure about the specific conversion rate between these panel stats and the martial arts standards of "Qi and Blood Index" and "Life Index." He needed to find a chance to use the professional equipment at school to test himself before making a decision.
But the use of the skill point was very clear.
His gaze fell upon the skill tree.
A small "+" sign had appeared behind [Basic Attack LV1], indicating that it could be enhanced by consuming a skill point.
But Lin Ye's attention was drawn to the skill icon below it, which had previously been grayed out but was now lit up.
[Thick Skin (Passive), Available to learn.]
'Enhance an old skill, or unlock a new one?'
Lin Ye had asked the system about this before. To improve an already unlocked skill, he could either use skill points directly...
...or he could grind its proficiency through repeated use.
Once the proficiency was high enough, it would level up naturally.
With skill points being scarce in the early stages, Lin Ye had no intention of using them to upgrade existing skills.
'Unlocking a new skill is the top priority, of course.'
[Ding! Consumed 1 skill point. You have unlocked the passive skill: Thick Skin!]
[Thick Skin LV1 (Passive): Your skin becomes tougher, reducing all damage taken by 1%. The growth rate of your Life Value and Endurance Value maximums are increased to 1.1x.]
[Current Template Max Level Preview: All damage taken reduced by 5%. The growth rate of Life Value and Endurance Value maximums increased to 1.5.]
[Remark: A proper BOSS must first learn how to take a hit.]
'How can a real BOSS be a glass cannon?'
'Being a total tank is the way to go!'
A 5% damage reduction might not seem like much, but in a life-or-death battle, it could be the difference between living and dying.
What was even more crucial was the 1.5x growth rate.
Every 1 point in those attributes, whether from system rewards or his own training, would be automatically converted to 1.5 points.
Although this passive was just a very basic skill, its potential absolutely could not be underestimated.
Lin Ye closed the panel, satisfied, and prepared to sleep.
But the moment he closed his eyes, a thought suddenly shot through his mind.
'Wait a minute...'
'I don't think... I need to sleep?'
On his panel, his status was [Not in Combat, Rapidly Recovering].
This meant that his energy and physical strength were constantly recovering to their peak at a terrifying speed.
'And for humans, isn't the main purpose of sleep to restore energy and stamina?'
Lin Ye shot up in bed, a frightening gleam exploding in his eyes.
'Other people train for three to five hours a day and end up exhausted, needing to rely on sleep and nutritional supplements to slowly recover.'
'But as for me, as long as I don't train myself to death, I can keep going forever!'
'I'm a perpetual motion machine!'
'Who needs sleep?'
'Get up and train!'
...
「Four hours later.」
Lin Ye completed his 17th round of the Body Refining Skill and Observation Skill.
He took another shower, not making a sound, changed into a clean school uniform, and once again slipped out of the house in the dark.
At a little past four in the morning, Dongjiang City was completely silent.
The only things on the streets were the dim yellow streetlights and the occasional passing sanitation truck.
Lin Ye's figure moved like a phantom, speeding through the empty streets.
Before long, Lin Ye arrived at Dongjiang City First High School.
This was the first time he had ever come to school at this hour.
The old security guard at the gate, wrapped in a military greatcoat, was dozing. He was startled awake by Lin Ye's knock on the window. Seeing it was a student from the school and then glancing at the time, a hint of approval and surprise appeared in his cloudy eyes.
"Son, here to train this early?"
"Yeah, I wanted to get here early to use the equipment."
Lin Ye showed his student ID. The old man nodded, opened the gate, and muttered, "Kids these days are really something else. They work so much harder than we did back in my day..."
Lin Ye smiled at the old man and headed straight for the comprehensive training hall deep within the school grounds.
His goal was clear—the comprehensive training room.
There were body data scanners there that would allow him to get a precise understanding of his current strength.
Besides that, he had an even bolder idea. The training room had Gravity Chambers.
'If I train in a gravity environment, will the system give more experience?'
In the past, the gravity room had been a torture chamber to him. Every time the teacher forced him inside during P.E. class, he felt like he was being skinned alive.
But now, he was actually a little excited.
However, as he approached the gravity room, he stopped in his tracks.
From behind the closed alloy doors, a sliver of light shone through, and he could faintly hear the sound of heavy blows.
'At this hour, someone was actually here earlier than me?'
His curiosity piqued, Lin Ye crept to the door and peered inside through the observation window.
A single glance was all it took for him to freeze.
Inside the gravity room, a tall, slender figure was facing a training dummy, throwing punches and kicks over and over again.
She wore a tight-fitting black training uniform that outlined a perfect, toned figure without an ounce of fat. A neat ponytail swung back and forth with her movements.
The young woman's face was expressionless, her eyes focused and sharp. Every punch she threw cut through the air with a whistle, landing precisely on the dummy's vital points.
Lin Ye didn't recognize her.
'But anyone who could be in the gravity room at this hour, even earlier than me, must be no ordinary person.'
Sure enough, seen through his system's perspective, an orange-red LV10 marker was floating prominently above her head.
Just then, the young woman seemed to sense something. She abruptly stopped her movements, and a pair of cool, clear eyes instantly swept toward the door.
After seeing Lin Ye, she retracted her gaze and resumed her training.
Lin Ye didn't say anything either and walked straight in.