Chapter 45: Frenzied Rush

Chapter 45: Frenzied Rush

Hopefully, nothing too serious will happen!

Chen Shouyi crumpled the newspaper into a ball and tossed it into the trash bin. His next stop was the bank, which he headed to immediately.

Before he even reached the entrance, he could see the bank’s lobby already packed with people. Strangely, the sight made him breathe a sigh of relief.

At least the situation hadn’t deteriorated to the worst possible extent.

The fact that the bank was still open for business meant it had its own independent power supply. The outage only affected mobile networks—at least the fiber-optic connections were still functioning.

Chen Shouyi noticed that the ATMs weren’t operational.

He guessed it might be a measure to slow down withdrawals—either due to insufficient cash reserves or to prevent a frenzied rush by the public.

Stepping into the bank lobby, he found it packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Even a train station during the Lunar New Year rush probably wouldn’t be this chaotic.

But then again, it made sense.

With the rise of mobile payments, cash had become increasingly rare. Many people hardly ever needed to use physical money in their daily lives, so they rarely carried much on them.

Now that mobile networks were down, these people were the most frantic.

He quickly took a queue number and joined the line.

He didn’t have much cash on hand either—only about three or four hundred yuan.

Given the current circumstances, having more money readily available was just prudent.

Besides, he had no idea whether the Otherworld’s force field invasion would worsen. If power and internet were completely cut off, this money might become inaccessible forever.

As time passed, the crowd in the bank lobby didn’t thin—if anything, it grew even larger.

Before long, a security guard, his voice hoarse from shouting, announced that withdrawals would be capped at ten thousand yuan per person.

The crowd erupted in protest, with some people arguing fiercely.

“What do you mean only ten thousand? It’s my own damn money—I should be able to take it all out!”

“What can ten thousand even do? Who knows how long this blackout will last? What if the bank runs out of cash?”

...

Fortunately, despite the agitation, the situation hadn’t escalated into outright chaos—after all, the outage had only just begun.

Most people remained rational, and the presence of patrolling soldiers and police officers on the nearby streets helped maintain order.

Under the security guard’s repeated reassurances, the crowd gradually calmed down, though many were still visibly unhappy. Thankfully, no violent incidents broke out.

Chen Shouyi, however, wasn’t particularly concerned.

Money came easily to him, and he didn’t value it as much as an adult might.

In the past, even ten thousand yuan would have been a fortune to him.

Besides, he still had the gold from the island.

As the saying went, “Gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times.” Gold was far more stable than cash.

...

After waiting in line all morning, it was finally his turn.

Once he withdrew the money, Chen Shouyi immediately rushed to a nearby supermarket.

In fact, most people who had just withdrawn cash were heading to the same place.

Though the newspapers urged the public not to panic-buy, without purchase limits, it was practically impossible to prevent.

Human nature’s inherent sense of crisis made people more likely to believe unfavorable news, and collective panic only fueled the frenzy.

By the time Chen Shouyi arrived, the supermarket was already packed. People were grabbing items off the shelves as if they were free.

Chen Shouyi was no exception.

His cart was already filled to the brim, mostly with bottled water, various vacuum-sealed ready-to-eat meals, and long-lasting compressed biscuits.

He had originally wanted to find candles, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find any—they had probably been snatched up long ago. In the end, he had no choice but to grab a bottle of cooking oil. If the power outage continued tonight, making an oil lamp in his room might not be a bad idea.

His phone battery was running dangerously low, so he had already turned it off. He’d save the remaining charge for critical moments.

Chen Shouyi wasn’t particularly worried about his family. His mother had always been a cautious person, and in his memory, she had participated in every instance of social panic-buying.

……

Carrying bags upon bags, he returned to the hotel, where he noticed the front desk was unattended—likely, the staff had also rushed off to join the shopping frenzy. After hauling everything into his room, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Recalling the near-stampede chaos in the supermarket, Chen Shouyi couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.

People had gone mad.

Truthfully, a simple power outage alone wouldn’t have triggered such panic-driven looting. But this time, the invasion of the otherworldly force field had dulled chemical reactions, manifesting in countless subtle yet unsettling ways.

For instance, the flames from household gas stoves had weakened, cars were prone to stalling and sluggish acceleration, and even smokers noticed their cigarettes lacked their usual kick. These eerie, thought-provoking phenomena couldn’t have escaped the notice of just Chen Shouyi alone.

……

He released Shell Woman and first prepared some honey water for her. Then, he gnawed on a few compressed biscuits and a pack of braised pork knuckles, barely making do for lunch.

It was already 2:30 in the afternoon.

He had no plans to go out again today.

The streets were now swarming with military police, and if he ventured back to the spatial gateway at the abandoned building, he’d likely be questioned. For safety’s sake, staying in his room was the wiser choice.

"Has Bei Qi returned yet?" Shell Woman asked, pinching her nose as she finished the honey water, licking her lips with hopeful anticipation.

Clearly, she was already hopelessly addicted to the cartoons.

"Not yet," Chen Shouyi replied.

Hearing the cruel news from the giant’s mouth, Shell Woman was utterly disheartened. She sighed, her expression gloomy.

But she remained quiet, not throwing a tantrum like she had yesterday.

Seeing her pitiful expression, Chen Shouyi almost couldn’t resist giving her a glass bead to comfort her. Fortunately, his Willpower held firm, and he remained unmoved.

The two of them sat in silence, wordless.

After a while, Chen Shouyi idly opened his system panel and glanced at the "Primary Regeneration" status. Thankfully, it remained unchanged from yesterday, not growing any more transparent.

Finally, he skimmed through the knowledge section. Just as he was about to close it, a sudden stream of information flashed through his mind, leaving him momentarily stunned.

The Book of Knowledge reminded him that the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques and Meditative Self-Refinement could be optimized once again.

A surge of excitement rushed through Chen Shouyi.

He had waited so long for this moment.

Only now did he realize his Energy Accumulation had reached 3.04.

Did each optimization cost two points more than the last, or was it three times the previous amount?

He pondered for a moment before giving up.

None of that mattered. The real question was—which one should he optimize first?

The Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques enhanced his physical attributes, which was undeniably crucial!

Meanwhile, Meditative Self-Refinement enhances bodily control while also increasing the Perception attribute, making it equally indispensable. After some deliberation, he decided to prioritize optimizing the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques. Although Meditative Self-Refinement was important, its effects were still quite noticeable for now, sufficient for his needs.

As for the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques, progress had slowed considerably since his physical transformation. Of course, compared to others, this rate of improvement could still be considered astonishingly fast. But it was like someone accustomed to driving a Ferrari every day suddenly switching to a Passat—the stark contrast was simply unbearable.

He glanced at Shell Woman, who was still sighing in frustration. Lying back on the bed, he closed his eyes and immediately selected the "Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques" for optimization.

The familiar dreamscape enveloped him once more. Amidst a haze of gray mist, he practiced the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques over and over. With each repetition, subtle adjustments refined his movements. As time passed, the modifications grew more pronounced until the technique became almost unrecognizable.

By the final iteration, his mind settled into tranquility—thoughtless, undisturbed, entering a state of lucid meditation. In that fleeting moment, an inexplicable, mysterious aura seemed to descend upon him!