Chapter 116: Finger Bone

Chapter 116: Finger Bone

The sounds of battle gradually subsided only after noon. However, the soldiers did not withdraw, maintaining their state of martial law. Because of this, Chen Shouyi had no choice but to remain in Dongning.

Gradually, more news began to spread, plunging the entire city of Dongning into panic. It was said that the death toll this time exceeded three thousand, with five villages completely slaughtered and sacrificed to a deity.

By the afternoon, more troops marched into Dongning, entering Muluo Town. A long procession of tanks, rocket launchers, and armored vehicles rolled past, carrying an air of solemnity. Crowds lined the streets, but there were no cheers—only silence and unease.

The danger level of this new passage was clearly not far from the highest. Chen Shouyi could foresee that Muluo Town and its surrounding areas would likely be designated as a military zone, with all nearby residents forcibly relocated.

He wouldn’t be surprised if nuclear warheads were already aimed at Muluo Town at this very moment.

Due to the situation, Chen Shouyi was forced to stay in Dongning for two extra days. It wasn’t until the third day that he finally returned to Hedong City.

Stepping out of the train station, he looked at the bustling streets outside, the sight of cars coming and going. Only then did the tension that had weighed on him finally ease.

...

Taking the elevator up to the fifth floor, he pressed the doorbell.

"Coming!" Chen Xingyue quickly opened the door. The moment she saw Chen Shouyi, she exclaimed, "Brother, you’re finally back! Guess who I brought?"

Chen Shouyi glanced into the living room and saw a tall, graceful figure standing up hesitantly. "Shouyi?"

"Sis, when did you get here? Don’t you have classes today?" Chen Shouyi asked, surprised.

The visitor was his cousin, Chen Yuwei, the daughter of his uncle. She was currently studying at Jiangnan Province's First Academy, Jiangnan University, in Hedong City.

Whether it was due to some imbalance in the family’s fortunes, both Chen Xingyue and Chen Yuwei were exceptionally outstanding. However, Chen Yuwei had a strong personality and had always been closer to Chen Xingyue. Back when they were kids, every time he made Chen Xingyue cry, Chen Yuwei would make him cry in return.

As they grew older, the bullying stopped, but they never became particularly close.

"Are you spacing out? It’s Saturday today. I just got here not long ago. If it weren’t for your somewhat familiar face, I almost wouldn’t have recognized you. How did you get so handsome? You look way better than before," Chen Yuwei said excitedly, staring at Chen Shouyi as if he were a completely different person.

"Haha, I guess so. Let me put my luggage away first," Chen Shouyi replied with a smile before heading to his bedroom to unpack.

"By the way, Xingyue told me you’ve become a Martial Artist?" Chen Yuwei asked as soon as he stepped back out.

"More or less," Chen Shouyi said with a chuckle.

"Really?" Chen Yuwei’s face was full of disbelief as she pressed for confirmation.

"Really," Chen Shouyi nodded. There was no point hiding it.

Chen Yuwei let out a shriek, rushed over, and threw her arms around him, jumping up and down in excitement. "When Xingyue mentioned it, I thought she was joking. I didn’t expect it to be true!"

The soft press of her chest against him made Chen Shouyi extremely awkward. He quickly protested, "Sis, stop!"

"Still shy, huh? Do you want me to introduce you to a girlfriend?" Chen Yuwei clung to Chen Shouyi's arm, teasing him with a laugh. "I know plenty of beauties. What type do you prefer?"

"Sis, I'm only seventeen!" Chen Shouyi quickly deflected. Besides, he already had a girlfriend. The thought of Zhang Xiaoyue, who had gone silent, brought a faint gloom to his heart.

After finally shaking off Chen Yuwei's pestering, Chen Shouyi asked about her family's situation. Fortunately, everything seemed fine—her parents worked in government institutions, and the power outages hadn’t affected them. At least their livelihood wasn’t at risk.

Still, Chen Shouyi urged Chen Yuwei to persuade her father to move the family out of Dongning City as soon as possible.

With the appearance of that high-risk spatial rift, Dongning City was clearly no longer safe. If the conflict escalated, it could become a frontline battlefield at any moment.

...

The family’s restaurant had begun trial operations, and Chen Fu and Jiang Fen were gone all day, only returning hurriedly in the evening. Since relatives had come over, the family went to a hotpot restaurant near the neighborhood for dinner.

Once back, Chen Shouyi found an excuse to retreat to his bedroom.

...

He sat upright on the bed, faint currents of energy swirling subtly around him.

The candle he had deliberately lit earlier flickered, its flame tilting incessantly.

"Compared to the Otherworld, my power on Earth is a thousand times weaker!" Chen Shouyi thought to himself.

He suspected that even the divine colossal tree wouldn’t fare much better if it came to Earth.

As for a True God—how much power could they wield here?

Whether it was the mysterious Deity on the high-speed train, the Hunting God in Dongning City, or the unresolved war in Dongni Country, the recent chain of events had left him with a growing sense of crisis.

He could feel it—with the invasion of mystical energy from the Otherworld, these terrifying creatures were growing restless, probing Earth again and again.

His strength was still far too lacking.

Over the past nine days, only his Perception had increased by 0.2 points, reaching 11.7, while his other attributes remained stagnant.

Ever since absorbing the divine colossal tree and experiencing that sudden surge in attributes, his progress had slowed significantly—except for Perception, which still improved at its original pace.

However, through meditative refinement of the self, he sensed he was nearing the completion of the flesh refinement stage. During meditation, his muscles now appeared vividly in his inner vision, displaying intricate shifts of light and shadow, even revealing finer textures.

He estimated that in another ten days or so, he would fully break through and enter the next stage.

Glancing to the side, he saw the Shell Woman, her eyes bright and focused, intently watching cartoons.

Chen Shouyi took out the irregular crystal, turning it over in his hand.

On Earth, its luster had dimmed considerably, making it even more inconspicuous.

Clearly, it still retained traces of supernatural power.

For some reason, every time he looked at this crystal, he felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Then, a sudden realization struck him. His eyes widened. "No way!"

He quickly stood and walked to the computer.

The moment his body blocked the screen, the Shell Woman immediately protested. She smacked the bedsheet angrily with both hands and shouted, "#@# Giant, Bei Qi! I want Bei Qi!"

"Wait, I need to use it for a bit!" Chen Shouyi said dismissively, ignoring her tantrum.

Opening a new webpage, he quickly searched for "finger bone."

Soon, a row of images appeared before his eyes. He clicked on one of the clearer ones and held the semi-transparent crystal up to the screen, carefully comparing the two.

Immediately, he couldn’t help but gasp.

He found they were nearly 70-80% similar.

This truly was a finger bone—a front-section finger bone at that, measuring a full 10 cm long. The owner of this finger bone must have stood over 10 meters tall.

Staring at this crystallized finger bone, he wondered:

Could this be divine remains?