Spiritual Energy?
A new concept appeared before Han Ning.
He summoned his panel and discovered that, at some point, an interface with his information had been added.
[Name: Han Ning
Race: Human
Level: Unranked
Spiritual Power——
Current Spiritual Power: 0.11
Remaining Spiritual Energy: 0.1 (1 point of Spiritual Energy converts to 0.5 Spiritual Attribute Points)]
'Spiritual Power, huh.'
'I just don't know what use this Spiritual Power will be to me.'
Han Ning mulled it over for a moment and guessed that Spiritual Power might be related to the number of Soul Beast Contracts he could sign.
After all, he had tried to sign a contract with a young Iron-toothed Snake before, and it had ended in failure.
Unfortunately, he only had 0.1 points of Spiritual Energy at the moment. He would need to kill another ten of those little black bugs to exchange for 0.5 Energy.
He closed the panel, picked up the bug's corpse from the ground, and went to knock on the main door of Building A.
"Who is it?" a nervous student's voice came from behind the door.
"It's me, Han Ning."
"Han Ning? Weren't you on the second floor? How'd you get down to the first?"
"I jumped. If you don't believe me, take a look through the crack in the door."
Han Ning was a little helpless. He hadn't considered how wary his classmates would be when he jumped down, and now he had to explain everything.
A few dozen seconds later, the door creaked open, revealing several students behind it, each clutching a piece of Silver Lotus Wood.
By now, the white fog in the hall had thinned out a bit, so everyone no longer had to cram together.
"Dean Wu, I've made a new discovery." Han Ning walked up to Dean Wu and a few teachers, holding out the bug's corpse for them to see.
Then, he told everyone about his recent encounter.
"There's half a head out there. I don't know if this Southeast Asian person was a native of this wasteland or someone who escaped from the train."
Han Ning recalled the train whistle he'd heard a short while ago and didn't rule out the possibility of a train having crossed over as well.
Dean Wu scrutinized the small bug and asked, "Can you be sure which direction the whistle came from?"
"I think it was from the south..."
"The south? That's the direction closest to the area outside campus. We'll send a team to check it out tomorrow morning. But... whether they're locals or people from Southeast Asia, it's best not to engage with them at first. Just take a look from a distance and leave," Dean Wu said after a moment of thought.
"Why? If they're from Southeast Asia, maybe we can work together," a student nearby said, not understanding.
Dean Wu shook his head. "Work together? We barely have enough food for ourselves. Think about it. That group of people just crossed over, where would they get food? If we talk to them, we might even have to give them our own food to help them out. It's best not to make contact for now and just observe the situation."
"The same goes if we run into natives. We first observe their behavior and disposition before making any plans."
Han Ning had to admit, Dean Wu's considerations were extremely thorough. After hearing him out, Han Ning also expressed his approval.
'Always plan before you act.'
Finally, Dean Wu pointed at the small bug and said to the teachers beside him, "Later, I want you to study this bug with Teacher Wu from the bio-engineering department. See what you can find out about it."
...
The rain fell for the better part of the day. By the time it finally stopped, dusk was falling outside.
The wasteland was dangerous at night, so the students had no intention of going out again. They returned to their dorms in twos and threes; some played cards, while others started preparing for dinner.
Han Ning returned to Building B, where he lived. While it was raining, about a hundred people had gathered there. A dozen or so teachers were responsible for keeping the students calm, so no major incidents had occurred.
In the afternoon, because Yin Yi had helped nearly fifty students remove toxins, Dean Wu had given him about fourteen Soul Beast corpses.
Han Ning absorbed all the Energy from these Soul Beast corpses and then transferred it to his two buddies, Lin Tianhe and Chen Linyu.
Although there wasn't much nutrition left in the Soul Beast corpses, he could still squeeze out a bit, equivalent to the amount from two or three Soul Beasts, which wasn't a small amount.
'Who else would I take care of if not my own roommates?'
As soon as Yin Yi entered the dorm, it jumped straight out of Han Ning's arms, picked up its favorite basketball, and started practicing its shots inside the room.
Han Ning sat on his bed and summoned Yin Yi's data panel.
He had earned 2.6 Energy from his trip out. Adding the remaining 0.5, he now had over 3 points.
He exchanged for 0.5 Spiritual Attribute Points and added them to Yin Yi first.
A misty green light covered Yin Yi as it played with the basketball, then vanished.
[Body——+ (Allocatable Points: 0)
Power: 0.53
Body: 0.46
Agility: 0.34
Spiritual Energy——+ (Allocatable Points: 0)
Spiritual Energy: 5 (Current Spiritual Energy limit has been reached. To break the limit, Body strength must be increased.)]
'Yin Yi's body probably can't handle too much Spiritual Energy...'
Han Ning understood. He then exchanged for 2 Body Attribute Points and allocated them to Physical Strength and agility respectively.
The data blurred for a moment, and Yin Yi's panel changed—
[Body——+ (Allocatable Points: 0)
Power: 0.73
Body: 1.46
Agility: 1.34
Spiritual Energy——+ (Allocatable Points: 0)
Spiritual Energy: 5 (Current Body limit has been reached. To break the limit, Body strength must be increased.)]
To Han Ning's surprise, after allocating 2 Attribute Points to Body and Agility, its Power also increased slightly!
In the real world, a faint, emerald-green light appeared on Yin Yi's body. Nourished by the glow of Spiritual Energy, its body began to slowly grow.
It grew from just over 60 centimeters to about 70 centimeters before stopping.
The dense, silvery-gray roots at its base grew a little thicker, improving its grip.
Near its roots, two new palm-sized green leaves sprouted, looking like small wings.
The color of the flower on its head lightened slightly, gradually approaching pink.
"Bobo?"
With its Power enhanced, Yin Yi wasn't paying attention and popped the basketball again.
'The notification next to Spiritual Energy still hasn't disappeared. It seems I need to raise Yin Yi's overall three stats, but I don't know to what level...'
Han Ning estimated that Yin Yi's current Power was about the same as Lin Tianhe's Silver Lotus Wood. The latter's Power was greater than its Spiritual Energy, allowing it to fling several Monster Rats.
"Yin Yi, try and see if you can whip out a long vine."
He walked over to Yin Yi and mimed the shape of a long whip.
Yin Yi tilted its head in thought, then raised the branches on its sides.
Immediately, the branches began to lengthen from the middle, quickly transforming into two slender vines about ten meters long.
It cracked the long whips.
With a loud SNAP, a crisp crack echoed through the air.
Han Ning nodded, picked up Yin Yi, and opened the dorm room door. Looking at the pitch-black hallway, he said, "Not bad... Let's test your speed... Yin Yi, run from this end to the other."
'An increase in Agility should improve things like speed, explosiveness, and reaction time.' He wasn't sure, so he decided to test it.
"Bobo!"
Yin Yi jumped down. Its grayish-white roots, like human feet, gripped the ground tightly.
Then, at Han Ning's command,
The leaves at the base of Yin Yi's body suddenly began to flutter gently.
Its body shot forward like an arrow.