He couldn't quite understand the matter, though.
Li Chonglou didn't say much, only telling him to go back and rest early, adding, "We're on the same team, you might even get some of this student meal."
Chen Pingfan chuckled and said directly, "I dare not claim credit; what I've done is less than a tenth of yours."
"That's still merit."
Chen Pingfan grinned and left Li Chonglou's dormitory.
Little did he know, Li Chonglou's focus had never been on this sub-base from the start.
For them, being able to maintain their sub-base status was the best outcome, but for Li Chonglou, it was merely a foundation.
However, this time, he needed some time to sort through his gains.
Lying back on the bed, Li Chonglou's consciousness returned to the sea of consciousness.
"Xiao Zi."
Facing his new name, the purple child was still a bit bewildered, only looking at Li Chonglou, who had disturbed its rest, with confusion.
"Do you have any special skills?"
Li Chonglou got straight to the point. After all, Xiao Zi was the consciousness of the Divine Thunder Source, and even without its本体 (běntǐ - original body/entity), it should have its own unique traits.
Therefore, Li Chonglou looked at it with anticipation.
After a while, the latter finally understood what Li Chonglou meant, pondered for a moment, and then stood up.
"Lightning."
A very stiff sentence in human language, using Chinese, which Li Chonglou didn't know when it had learned.
But the moment it spoke, Li Chonglou's expression changed drastically.
A numbing sensation emanating from the depths of his consciousness forcibly ejected him from the sea of consciousness. In reality, Li Chonglou had no time to react, and his body suddenly convulsed violently.
"Damn it!"
Numbness!
Pain!
A bone-deep pain that made him utterly miserable, his eyes rolling back.
Lying on the bed, his body began to shake involuntarily, his limbs straightening and spasming uncontrollably!
Does this thing also devour its master?
His remaining consciousness sensed that something was terribly wrong, but it was too late to respond. The pain came too fast!
*Bang bang bang!*
A series of popping sounds suddenly erupted from within his body, as if something was exploding inside him. His body shook more and more violently, and finally, he rolled onto the ground.
Sweat instantly soaked his back, but Li Chonglou's consciousness only perceived numbness and pain at this moment; he couldn't sense anything else!
Large beads of sweat continuously dripped from his forehead, quickly soaking a large portion of the expensive carpet on the floor.
"Ah!"
The pain that pierced his very soul made Li Chonglou cry out, his body curling up in agony.
He didn't know how long it took before the numbing pain suddenly receded like a tide. Li Chonglou lay sprawled on the cool floor, gasping for air like a drowning fish.
Strangely, after the numbing pain subsided, it was followed by an indescribable comfort that spread through every inch of his body, like a spring shower after a drought.
He was numb.
This time, he was truly numb.
But it also felt... somewhat comfortable. Li Chonglou murmured softly.
"Xiao Li, what's wrong?"
Only then did he hear Old An's anxious voice.
But Li Chonglou didn't respond immediately. Instead, he discovered with surprise that his physical body seemed to have undergone a mutation.
Yes, a mutation, not just a simple strengthening.
Struggling to get up from the ground, Li Chonglou raised his hand and looked at his palm.
On the surface, apart from the sweat, it looked no different from before. However, Li Chonglou could clearly perceive that beneath his skin, his muscle cells seemed to possess a strength they hadn't had before.
His strength was also rapidly recovering. Li Chonglou suddenly threw a punch.
*Crack.*
A faint, almost imperceptible sound, so faint that only he could hear it.
But Li Chonglou's face lit up with joy.
"Is this the power of lightning?"
He threw another punch with the same force as before, but there was indeed an hidden energy!
It was truly the power of lightning!
Although it wasn't as advanced as the old village chief's, where he could directly see the lightning, he now possessed the exact same ability!
This was the power of lightning, the strongest offensive attribute in the world. So many experts risked their lives to go to the Thunder Magnetic Island just for this!
Li Chonglou smiled.
"Xiao Li?"
"Old An, I'm fine. Xiao Zi has given me new strength."
At this moment, he finally understood what the numbness and pain were about. This was clearly modifying his body, not only cleansing his meridians but also elevating his physical strength to a new level.
It had also bestowed him with new power: the power of lightning!
This trip was worth it!
Old An's soul had suffered some damage from the previous incident, and he hadn't quite grasped the situation. After Li Chonglou's brief explanation, he couldn't help but sigh, "Xiao Li, your luck is truly extraordinary. Things that others can't obtain in a lifetime seem to be given to you effortlessly."
Li Chonglou chuckled. He was also extremely interested in this power of lightning.
Now that he could wield it personally, even if it seemed very basic at the moment, he had taken a step forward. How could this not be exciting?
"However, to gain more and become stronger in the future, I probably have to go and reclaim Xiao Zi's original form."
Li Chonglou knew very well that no matter how strong Xiao Zi was now, it was still just a consciousness.
To truly unleash its potential, he needed to find its original form. Perhaps the person who directly obtained its original form would gain even greater benefits!
But he already had this in mind, and now he had even more motivation.
"Alas, I should sort out my identity first."
Despite the pleasant surprise, as he returned to reality, Li Chonglou couldn't help but sigh.
In fact, he didn't care about things like the Civilian Association or the Three Councils at all. He was doing all this simply to avoid implicating his friends.
Others might be fine. After all, there weren't many vested interests, and most of them were ordinary people. Those individuals likely wouldn't directly target them.
But Zhou Tong was different.
He was one of the main figures in the previous Yuan Bei incident. As the visible head of the company, if the Civilian Association or the Battle Council directly retaliated against him, he would likely be the first target besides himself.
Therefore, he still needed to find a way to enter the Executive Department's main base.
Another thing was his soul damage; this also needed to be accelerated.
Old An had also suffered damage this time. Although he could still merge, the power he could unleash was limited to the early stage of the sixth level.
As for Old Lin and Rainbow, they were even worse off. It was probably difficult for them to even merge now.
Other souls had also suffered varying degrees of depletion. If he didn't recover his strength faster and then find a way to lift the curse, he might not be able to fight as he did before!