Next, Chen Shouyi continued to experiment with the ability to control the atmosphere for a while, and then completely gave up the delusion of developing this ability.
Its pathetic attack power couldn’t even blow down a small Shell Lady, and could only deal with ants at best.
Initially, he thought this ability was just a chicken rib, useful only for showing off.
But not long after, Chen Shouyi discovered that this ability was not entirely useless.
He discovered this when he was practicing his sword skills afterward.
His sword speed is extremely fast now. After an increase of 0.1 in agility, his pure thrusts can consistently break the sound barrier on Earth. Even in this different world with triple gravity, he can reach speeds of around 300 meters per second.
At such speeds, the air essentially becomes similar to a liquid.
When thrusting, he could clearly feel the strong air resistance, severely hindering further speed improvement.
But today, he discovered that, several times, when thrusting, the resistance weakened significantly.
It seemed that as the sword pierced forward, some air would automatically part to the sides in advance as if an invisible force was dividing it all. Moreover, it required no conscious control on his part, and this ability seemed like an instinct, completed subconsciously.
He thrust his sword several times and then stopped, frowning in deep thought.
"Why does the resistance decrease a lot at times, but only a little at others? There must be a key to this!"
After a long while, he thrust out another sword strike.
This time, the speed of the thrust was even faster, but the sound made as the sword tip broke the air was almost the same.
Afterward, he thrust several more times; when casual, the resistance was great, but when fully focused, the resistance was much less.
"It seems the more focused and concentrated the mind, the more the resistance weakens, allowing for faster thrusts."
He keenly noticed the difference.
Upon discovering this phenomenon, Chen Shouyi immediately started to focus his concentration intentionally.
In this aspect, he has always had a great advantage. Whether it be entering a meditative state or optimizing the thirty-six forms of body refinement, both require focusing.
This allowed him to easily enter a highly focused state when doing something.
He continued thrusting his sword, becoming more and more focused, and his mind gradually became undistracted.
After practicing for who knows how long, suddenly his entire being reached a peak concentration, and he fiercely thrust out a sword. He felt that with this thrust, he achieved an unprecedented level in both speed and technique.
Faintly, it seemed as if a pale cyan conical surge of energy burst out instantly from the sword tip, flying three or four meters before dissipating into the air.
"What was that just now?" He sharply sensed the anomaly and could no longer maintain his state of mind, promptly stopping.
Only then did he feel a bit mentally fatigued, with a faint headache, as if something had flowed away with that sword thrust.
He turned around to find Shell Lady to confirm, but she hadn’t been paying attention at all.
Ever since obtaining the large glass bead, she’s been eagerly searching for gold everywhere.
"Never mind, if it happened once, there surely will be a second time," he thought to himself.
He continued to practice his sword skills, but unfortunately, this state seemed elusive; until the different world’s sun was setting, he didn’t manage to manifest it again.
Chen Shouyi changed back into his original clothes, stashed the weapons and backpack into the cave, repacked Shell Lady into the briefcase, and then walked out of the passage entrance.
It was only 2:30 in the afternoon on Earth.
The streets were sparsely populated.
As the power outage continued, Dongning City inevitably became increasingly desolate, no longer bustling as before.
Chen Shouyi looked at the shops on both sides that still had no electricity.
No surprise there. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ nοvelfire.net
This power outage wasn’t simple.
It wasn’t just an issue with a specific line or area; most lines across the entire nation were experiencing problems.
Not to mention, replacing the aging power cables was already becoming a scarcity in the market.
Chen Shouyi even doubted whether Dongning City could procure enough cables.
Even if they could be bought, replacing all would not be a task that could be completed in just a few days.
Moreover, the intrusion of the mysterious force field significantly increased power transmission loss, so even if all lines were restored to normal, the power that used to supply the whole nation would now barely sustain 50-60%.
The entire nation would face widespread power shortages.
And Dongning City, as a small city ranked five or six in importance, was neither an important industrial base nor had any strategic value. Even if the lines were repaired, it was unlikely to be powered anytime soon.
In mid-October, the temperature was already chilly.
Chen Shouyi hurried home with his briefcase in hand.
After crossing an intersection, he suddenly noticed a crowd in front of an office building, with many police officers visible through the crowd’s gaps.
"What’s happened?" he muttered to himself.
He quickly hurried over and soon detected a faint bloody scent from a distance.
His expression changed; the place was just a few steps from his home, could something have happened?
"Why are you pushing! Getting in my way!"
"Ah, sorry, excuse me, coming through!"
The young lady who complained was about to continue berating when she saw Chen Shouyi’s handsome, youthful face and swallowed her words.
Apologizing as he went, Chen Shouyi gently parted the crowd, squeezing his way forward.
With his astonishing strength now, a normal person’s hundred-pound weight was nothing; he could lift them with one hand and throw them several meters away.
Soon enough, he reached the front.
A line of caution tape had been erected at the office building’s entrance, and several police officers with somber expressions were carrying stretchers out of the building.
On the stretchers were bodies already placed in body bags. He saw five or six bodies being loaded onto a police van in just a short while.
"It’s truly pitiful; all the dead were girls aged fifteen or sixteen, over twenty bodies in total."
"Society is getting more and more chaotic, this never happened before."
"Seems like it was some cult ceremony, by the time they were discovered, the people were already dead, it’s simply inhumane."
Upon hearing the word "cult," Chen Shouyi’s heart tightened.
For the past twenty years, cults have been a target of global crackdowns, especially those worshipping otherworldly deities, which are strictly prohibited. Any discovery equates to a major case.
As the internet became more widespread and surveillance grew tighter over these years, such cults gradually disappeared, seldom heard of.
It was unexpected they’d resurface.
And in Dongning City, they performed such bloody and brutal rituals.