Chapter 74: Accidental Success

Now, Chen Chong’s height was close to one meter ninety, a full head taller than the thugs huddled together, and his limbs and chest bulged with clearly defined muscles. As his power ful arms moved, the thugs blocking his way were pushed aside like little chicks.

“So this guy is Chen Chong!?”

“This… he’s way too strong!”

“Where did this guy come from? He looks even bigger than Boss Tie Shan.”

“Wait… I remember him. When he first arrived, he was definitely not this strong or this tall! What’s going on?”

At the back of the crowd, Old Xu looked on with a worried expression. Chen Chong’s iron-tower-like frame moved through the crowd, bringing an indescribable sense of pressure. Aside from those who had never seen Chen Chong before, the other thugs who had met him briefly felt that Chen Chong was vastly different from the impression in their memories, and they immediately burst out in startled discussion.

It wasn’t just these thugs who were surprised. When Chen Chong finally emerged from the crowd and reached the front, Awakeners like Tie Shan, Li Bao, Zhang Long, and Gu Jun all turned their heads, their eyes fixed intently on Chen Chong, their faces filled with shock and uncertainty.

The reason was simple. Now, in broad daylight, and with Chen Chong no longer deliberately disguising himself, anyone who had interacted with Chen Chong multiple times immediately noticed how drastically he had changed, as if he had become a completely different person!

Especially Tie Shan, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. He clearly remembered that when they first met, Chen Chong had been a full half-head shorter than him, with a physique that could only be described as thin and weak. Yet now, Chen Chong just stood there, his iron-tower-like body even taller and bigger than his own! And only about ten days had passed since their last meeting!

On the wooden platform, Blood General said nothing. He narrowed his eyes and looked Chen Chong, whose body had drastically changed, up and down. A dangerous light flickered in his scarlet eyes.

He was now only a few meters away from Chen Chong. Face to face like this, with his Transcendent-level perception, he could faintly sense that Chen Chong’s Life Field was dense and solid, yet carried an elusive quality, like a glacier hidden beneath the sea, impossible to see clearly.

But one thing was certain: the current Chen Chong seemed no weaker than any Awakener present. Beneath his muscles, which looked ready to burst his clothes, there was clearly explosive power lurking!

Blood General was equally caught off guard. Since the last air raid on the Territory, he hadn’t paid any attention to Chen Chong for about ten days, and yet Chen Chong had changed so drastically it completely overturned his understanding!

From Chen Chong’s patience and the changes in his body, he seemed to catch a whiff of conspiracy and betrayal.

For a moment, on the scene, whether it was Blood General or Awakeners like Tie Shan, they all fixed Chen Chong with strange, intense gazes, plunging the entire open ground into an equally strange silence.

“Chen Chong, it seems you’ve been living quite well in the Territory?”

Staring at Chen Chong, Blood General’s hoarse voice broke the silence, carrying an unclear meaning:

“Your changes… truly surprise me…”

“General, I also find it very strange.”

With over a hundred gazes focused squarely on him, Chen Chong put on an act of a respectful salute and said deferentially:

“I’ve noticed that ever since I Awakened and could eat my fill every day in the General’s Territory, my body has been growing wildly, as if it’s undergoing a second development. The General is experienced and knowledgeable; I wonder if this counts as me having Awakened some kind of special ability?”

As soon as Chen Chong said this, including Blood General, Tie Shan and the others all furrowed their brows, considering this possibility:

Could Chen Chong’s changes be because he Awakened some kind of special Dominant Ability?

They hadn’t personally witnessed the miraculousness of Chen Chong practicing the twenty-seven secret movements of the Body Tempering Iron Body like Yin Hu had. Their immediate thought was that Chen Chong might have Awakened a special Dominant Ability, and after receiving nutritional supplements in the Territory, it caused such a huge change.

Among Awakeners, not many possessed abilities, and the vast majority Awakened Recessive Abilities that were almost meaningless. Those with Dominant Abilities were very special, rare beings. The existence of an ability that strengthened the physique wasn’t impossible.

However, for a person to undergo such obvious changes in just about ten days was still far too unbelievable, causing doubt to fill the eyes of Tie Shan and the others.

Blood General himself was also a possessor of a Dominant Ability. It was unknown whether he actually believed Chen Chong’s explanation. His eyes were unfathomable as he stared intently into Chen Chong’s eyes, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile:

“Oh? So that’s how it is.”

Chen Chong’s eyes looked directly into Blood General’s cold, ruthless gaze, his expression one of sincerity and confusion.

After a long moment, Blood General withdrew his gaze and nodded, speaking deliberately:

“Not bad, Chen Chong. From the looks of it now, you possess more potential than everyone present here. But before that, Gu Jun said you had met with Yin Hu before he disappeared. So… are you connected to his disappearance?”

“General, I’ve been wronged!”

Chen Chong immediately let out a strange cry and, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, his acting went into overdrive:

“That evening, I ran into Captain Yin Hu and we just exchanged a few casual words. There was absolutely no conflict. Captain Gu Jun can testify to that. After receiving my supplies, I went back to my room to sleep and didn’t go to the Power Station for the night watch until late. I never saw him again.

I’m a newcomer; I’ve never had any grudges or disputes with Captain Yin Hu. The easy job at the Power Station was something he personally arranged for me. Since he treated me so well, what reason would I have to harm him? And with my meager skills, how could I possibly be Captain Yin Hu’s match?”

Blood General narrowed his eyes, seeming to judge the truth or falsehood of Chen Chong’s self-defense. Meanwhile, Li Bao, standing nearby, rolled his eyes and immediately jumped out, shouting:

“How could there be no reason? During this period, I’ve almost never seen you in the Territory. Were you deliberately hiding, afraid someone would discover the changes in your body? I say you were born with rebellion in your bones!

Perhaps Yin Hu became suspicious of the changes in your body and secretly went to observe you during your night watch to see what you were hiding, and you discovered him, then killed him by some unknown method! The Power Station is in a remote location, and the noise covers things up. After killing Yin Hu, you simply burned his body in the boiler, destroying all evidence. That’s why everyone searched the entire Territory and never found a trace of Yin Hu!”

Swish, swish, swish!

As soon as Li Bao said this, the gazes of everyone, including Awakeners like Tie Shan, instantly fell back onto Chen Chong, filled with cold suspicion.

In this post-apocalyptic wasteland, people’s hearts were deceitful. The foolish wouldn’t survive long. Although Li Bao’s speculation had its strained parts, it was the most reasonable explanation for Yin Hu’s disappearance, and it also very reasonably explained why a body couldn’t be found anywhere in the Territory!