HTI: Chapter 144

His ability core was a space constructed entirely with his ability. The outer shell was indestructible and the inside was a magnetic field full of whirlwinds and vortices. If the external power wasn’t strong enough then it would be broken into pieces the moment it entered.

However, if the external force was too strong then the ability core would be in danger of being destroyed. Therefore, Xie Yang’s action of bringing an external power into his core was actually very dangerous.

It was just that Xie Yang couldn’t find a better way to absorb and control the resisting system.

He finally pulled hard and threw the wrapped system into his ability core before closing it up. After that, he didn’t unlock the system from his ability. Instead, he controlled it so that more of his ability oppressed the system.

In fact, he had a huge advantage in that he could absorb the energy of the system in real time and reclaim it for his own use. The ability core would also be upgraded after absorbing enough power. Every time it was upgraded, the power in his core would be refilled. Meanwhile, the system couldn’t absorb his power and would only get weaker. This advantage ensured that in the fight between him and the system, he could steadily absorb the system and its power as long as he wasn’t crushed by it.

After the system was wrapped and thrown into the ability core, the feeling of the blockade being impacted by the system became stronger. Gradually, Xie Yang felt there was a big ball spinning and expanding in his ability core. The ability that besieged it previously was being pushed back by the desperate opponent.

Xie Yang tried to follow this pushing feeling to absorb the system but found no gain. It seemed his ability could only absorb it when the system took shape. Xie Yang focused his mind even more, manipulating his ability while fighting against the defense of the invisible big ball. He tried to cut the big ball from the middle.

The system alarm sounded again.

[Alert… Alert! Danger perceived! Expanding the power output… bzzz… expanding… expanding… can’t… bzzz…]

After a scream that almost burst his brain, the big ball suddenly expanded to twice its original size and the edges became sharp and aggressive.

His ability core shook and caused a dull pain in his brain. Xie Yang unknowingly leaned deeper into Qiu Xing’s arms. Then once his core stabilized, he learned from the behavior of the system. He also made his ability surround the system in a spiky shape, carrying a powerful pushing force that moved toward the big ball.

It was a tug of war and the system faintly had the upper hand. Xie Yang’s ability core was currently only level four and the purity and degree of compression actually wasn’t as high as this system of unknown origin.

The camouflage protection of that dark energy had to be broken first.

Xie Yang retracted all of the ability around his body into his ability core and turned it into a ball, slamming it into the center of the tug of war. The ability core shook again. The system was extremely shocked and stopped for a moment.

It was now!

Xie Yang endured the discomfort and turned the force he had just used to hit the system into a sharp blade. He used this force along with the whirlwinds and vortex in the core to slam into the center of the tug of war.

[Bzzz… bzzz… alert! Ale—]

The repelling force on the big ball was suddenly removed and a dark energy group in a strange shape faintly emerged. It was out. Xie Yang controlled the ability to stick to the dark energy group and madly absorbed the opponent’s power.

[Bzzz… under attack! Under attack… the self-protection program has failed for the first time. Starting the second operation… bzzz…]

Second operation? It was thinking too beautifully.

Xie Yang divided his mind into two purposes. He manipulated the ability so it kept splitting apart the dark energy ball along the force he just stabbed at. At the same time, he compressed the space again.

[…Bzzz… interference… the second operation failed… third time… bzzz…]

The dark energy group was gradually shrinking. Xie Yang kept absorbing its power and felt that his shocked brain was slowly being soothed. The power in his core was becoming fuller and there were faint signs of upgrading.

He didn’t know how much time passed but the dark energy group had completely shrunk back to its original size and his ability core started to rotate at a high speed. Then there was another faint sound.

[Stopping the attempts. System damage statistics… 80%… 75%…. testing the world… no information… testing the signal link with the main system… no connection… testing the host status… unable to contact… starting patch… unable to start, patch is corrupted.]

[The final judgment is that the system has lost its operational value. As a result, the self-destruct procedure has started.]

The system’s voice suddenly became extremely clear and simultaneously, Xie Yang felt the dark energy slowly rotating.

He realized that something was wrong and hurriedly sped up absorbing it. At the same time, he released the blockade and exposed it directly to his ability core. Then he manipulated all the whirlwinds and vortices in the core toward the dark energy group!

The sound of the system once again became intermittently blurred but the rotation speed was becoming faster. Simultaneously, his ability core was turning faster as it reached the critical point of upgrading.

[Bzzz… the self-destruction program is starting. Countdown to self-destruction. Ten… nine…]

Sure enough, it wanted to blow itself up! Xie Yang opened his eyes abruptly before closing them again. He actively urged his ability core to rotate faster and speed up the upgrade process.

Faster.

He was rushing to upgrade his ability core before the dark energy group exploded. The moment his ability core upgraded, the strengthened pressure and vortex pulling force would abruptly increase. This would shatter the dark energy group that was about to explode, completely destroying the system and ending the self-destruction. Then he would win this battle.

[…Five… four… three…]

The ability core started to vibrate. Xie Yang had a splitting headache and almost passed out in pain. He insisted on staying awake and endured the recklessly growing power in his ability core.

[Two…]

Boom!

There was a silent explosion and everything became a slow-motion silent movie. Xie Yang closed his eyes but seemed to see the shimmering spherical core violently shattering during the high-speed rotation. Then it gathered together and quickly grew and solidified, becoming a bigger ball. After that, it went crazy and absorbed all the power around it.

[One…bzzz.]

The world became quiet. All the sensations of high heat and pain in his brain had disappeared. The ability core was still rotating and absorbing the external force but the speed had returned to the right track.

“Xie Yang? Yang Yang, what’s wrong with you? Why are you sweating all over? Where are you uncomfortable?”

Xie Yang opened his eyes when he heard the voice. He saw that Qiu Xing had woken up at some point and was touching his head with an anxious frown. Then he smiled with satisfaction. Now his ability to treat Qiu Xing had improved.

“I had a nightmare.” He didn’t know if he made a sound or not. The tiredness from the upgrade was overwhelming. He instinctively reached out to embrace Qiu Xing and buried his head in Qiu Xing’s arms. He closed his eyes and said in a pleased manner, “I’m a bit sleepy. I will sleep again… good night, my mouse.”

***

His consciousness was in comfortable chaos. Something was constantly breaking, merging, growing and upgrading… then his body sank. Xie Yang opened his eyes and immediately raised a hand to cover them.

The sun was shining.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Mr Qiu, your partner is just asleep. He really doesn’t have any problems.”

There was the familiar voice filled with disbelief and a faint anxiety. “He has been sleeping for more than 10 hours. No normal person would sleep for so long without waking up. His condition is more like a coma.”

There was an unfamiliar, helpless voice. “However, your partner’s body really has no problem. The symptoms you mentioned such as fever and sweating don’t appear on him. In fact, some people who are extremely tired can sleep for so long…”

Xie Yang was completely awake and wasn’t surprised to find himself lying in a hospital ward. He supported himself up using his arms and looked in the direction the voices were coming from. “Ah Xing.”

The conversation stopped and the hidden door of the ward was pushed open. Qiu Xing appeared like a gust of wind in front of Xie Yang. His hands pressed down on Xie Yang’s shoulders as he examined him from top to bottom. Then Qiu Xing stared at this person, expression tense like a storm was about to come. “You—”

Xie Yang repeated an old trick. “I’m hungry.”

Qiu Xing took a deep breath.

Xie Yang pulled down Qiu Xing’s hand and kneaded it in a comforting manner. “I heard the conversation between you and the doctor. It seems I have slept a long time? It seems that my physical fitness is getting better. This time, I just slept for a little longer. I didn’t get the same fever as before. I feel that if things continue like this, my symptoms of not acclimating to the environment will gradually disappear.”

“……”

Qiu Xing abruptly pulled his hand away to pull Xie Yang into his arms. He rubbed Xie Yang’s head vigorously and said, “Don’t be sloppy. I asked Xie Xiu and he said you didn’t have such a problem when you were a child. It was only when you got married—”

“Get rid of the feudal superstitions and start with you and me.” Xie Yang interrupted Qiu Xing and looked up at him. “Believe in science. You aren’t a lone star so don’t believe in such things.”

Qiu Xing’s lips pressed tightly together and he hugged Xie Yang again. Then he let go and turned to look at the stunned silly doctor at the door. “Check him.”

The doctor returned to his senses and hurried into the ward. The result of the examination was that Xie Yang wasn’t ill at all. He woke up normally.

Qiu Xing frowned tightly. He saw Xie Yang’s rosy complexion and flipped through the inspection results that showed no problems. Finally, he had to accept that Xie Yang really only slept for a while and Xie Yang was discharged from hospital.

In the car back to the hotel, Xie Yang saw that Qiu Xing’s mood was low. He thought about it and decided to confess. “In fact, I have a power. Every time my power is upgraded, I get a fever and go to sleep. The upgrade in my power means I can cure your illness faster.”

“Don’t mess around.” Qiu Xing glared at Xie Yang before grasping his hand. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. As for Rongding, I will ask them to select the deputies as soon as possible to help share your work once we get back. I will also receive treatment and maintain my health… Yang Yang, I will live for you, only for you. Don’t think about other things and stop having nightmares, okay?”

Xie Yang paused. So Qiu Xing thought he had slept longer this time because of stress, exhaustion and a heavy psychological burden that caused nightmares?

…It seemed to work.

He slowly gripped Qiu Xing’s hand and replied, “Yes. Then Qiu Xing, you don’t have to think about it. You should believe in science. Science is telling us that I’m healthy and you will definitely be cured.”

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Proofreader: Paranoid Kitten