Chapter 249: Chapter 249: Faltering

The cabin had no electricity, so Sleery took out a candle from the cabinet, lit it, and then sat on the edge of the bed preparing to undress. Chen Ke threw a blanket from the small sofa over Sleery.

“It’s 2 a.m., get some sleep while you can,” Chen Ke said as he turned and walked out the door, craving solitude.

“Leave the door open then,” Sleery responded.

She put her clothes back on, draped the blanket over her shoulders, and lay on her side in bed.

Chen Ke pushed the wooden door open and simply sat on the small step outside, gazing at the lake under the moonlight.

Sleery watched Chen Ke’s back and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The surroundings fell silent once again, with only the chirping of insects. The night breeze caressed the surface of the lake, stirring ripples that shattered the moon’s reflection.

Chen Ke had only three hours left to live, but he was not at all panicked at the moment.

He didn’t want to do anything right then.

Chen Ke wasn’t tired at all; he possessed unlimited physical strength and energy. But now he just didn’t want to do anything–he just wanted to sit here and zone out.

Most people probably don’t realize that, in addition to physical and mental stamina, emotions are also a form of energy that can be completely drained, and the rate at which emotions are spent is strongly connected to many other factors.

No one else has unlimited physical and mental stamina like Chen Ke, so many believe that if they don’t get tired, they can continue doing a task forever.

But that’s not the case.

Just think about those mechanically repetitive jobs, like those on a factory assembly line. Such work may not consume much energy or stamina, but no one can endure working like a robot.

Or consider what happens when someone has to do a job they don’t like or even emotionally resist; how long can they keep it up?

Of course, in this world, there’s not much choice. Many people have no option but to endure for the sake of living. Over time, they just get by, start to slack off, dread going to work as if attending their own funeral.

A significant emotional drain can also accelerate the depletion of physical and mental stamina, and the wear and tear on both body and spirit can slow the recovery of emotional well-being.

That is why modern young people are becoming increasingly despondent and adopting a more resigned attitude to life.

This was the situation with Chen Ke.

Before he traveled to this world, he was a normal office worker–a life, combining 24 years, less strange and eventful than half a month in this one.

He was not born an assassin, nor had he ever aspired to be a hero. He was just an average person.

But fate played a joke on him, suddenly bestowing him with a killing skill he couldn’t have even imagined and a bizarre life countdown.

Under the threat of the life countdown, Chen Ke had to face things he didn’t want to confront and began an endless cycle of killing people and monsters.

Chen Ke emotionally resisted these things, but under the threat of death, he had no choice but to act. His unlimited physical strength and energy allowed him to last this long without breaking down.

Yet what is inevitable will come; human emotions always fluctuate.

Now in possession of more than forty deformed souls, the three-hour countdown to his life no longer seemed threatening.

Chen Ke suddenly cooled down.

One could say he was experiencing a PTSD state, though that wasn’t entirely accurate. However, his current psychological state was indeed entirely different from before.

Chen Ke sat on the small step, taking stock of the things he had done, the people he had met, and his own body.

It was as if Chen Ke had become that average employee again, burdened with a mortgage and working at a small company, his soul leaving its shell to float mid-air and looking down at the husk called “Lin Mo.”

Chen Ke took out a soul that could add three hours to his life limit. As he was about to crush it, he hesitated and put it away again.

After crushing this soul, he would have a whole day’s worth of life, and his lifespan would immediately be filled to the limit.

But crushing it now seemed wasteful, with three hours to go… Chen Ke felt it was better to wait until there was only half an hour or ten minutes left.

He looked back; Sleery was already snoring away in deep sleep. Previously, he was either dragged into strange events or had to rush about looking for fights. Now, it was a rare moment of leisure for Chen Ke.

For the first time, Chen Ke began to reflect on his life countdown… Although it was deadly, it turned him into a human perpetual motion machine.

Moreover, as long as he died within 30% of the remaining life limit, he could resurrect on the spot. This ability was simply monstrous.

Furthermore, looking at the rules for increasing life span, as long as there are souls, he could extend his life limit.

Would there be a limit to how much the life span could be increased? Chen Ke couldn’t help but wonder–if there wasn’t, wouldn’t that mean he could achieve a form of immortality?

Furthermore, he could amplify his Transcendent skills with his lifespan…

Just imagine, if Chen Ke’s lifespan could reach several years, several hundred years, several thousand years… several million years… Using several million years to amplify the Crystal Gun… he probably could blow up a star…

“Infinite… This is… This is infinite…” Chen Ke got a little excited, as he had never considered such a thing before.

It’s very possible that I am infinite…

Infinite growth potential, infinite lifespan…

Could it be that I am a god?

With this thought, the current 21-hour lifespan limit suddenly didn’t seem so terrifying…

It’s like leveling up in a game, my lifespan is my level!

Thinking of 10 hours as one level and corresponding to the Energy Level of a Spiritual Ability User, I should be at the level of a Level Two Spiritual Ability User right now, and my Spiritual Energy is probably about the same as Diana’s.

However, besides the set of abilities related to Spiritual Energy, Chen Ke also had his exclusive murderous aura series!

As a Level Two, when he used his lifespan to amplify his Transcendent skills, he could deal damage far beyond those of his peers.

All of a sudden, Chen Ke felt a sense of relief, as if he had undone a mental knot, and the spiritual shackles that weighed on him shattered with a bang.

Pressure transformed into motivation.

The countdown of his life was a blessing for Chen Ke!

Driven by this sudden joy and hope, Chen Ke felt extremely excited. It was like the thrill of winning the lottery, exhilarating and delightful.

“Fuck yes!” He stood up excitedly, whispering his cheers, his face beaming like someone who had just found a box full of money; he clenched his fists and waved them wildly in the air.

Then came a sense of emptiness.

Chen Ke sat back down. Now, he no longer thought of the countdown as a shackle imposed by Si’s consortium. However, it surely wasn’t a baseless concern.

All good things come at a price; all power is obtained through sacrifices.

Chen Ke plunged into a new level of confusion, more profound than before.

“Heaven tasks those who are great with weighty responsibilities, but first tests their will with hardships.” Now, Chen Ke was still alive, he had passed the test, but what did this mean?

It’s not that he wanted to take up any mission. On the contrary, Chen Ke worried: if he enjoyed this power without taking on the corresponding responsibilities, would there be any consequences?

He had always wanted to reach the Transcendent realm because that was the only way to find a cure to become a normal person again, or even a way to return…

Humans must eventually die, and in his original world, he was merely a poor office worker strapped by a mortgage.

Here, Chen Ke had the chance to become eternal! And he could also make a lot of money.

He wasn’t particularly interested in slaying and fighting monsters, but with his current strength, winning against some ordinary monsters wasn’t a difficult task. To maintain this and lead a wealthy and free life seemed pretty good…

Maybe he could also find a way to go back, and bring his parents and friends over…

With this in mind, Chen Ke suddenly lost his motivation to move forward. These past two weeks, every action he took was solely for survival and to find a way to remove the countdown.

Now, his motivation was gone.

“Hainerd was right, go buy a big house in Carefree City, enjoy life with Lucina, treat fighting monsters for longevity as going to work… Let the consortium, the Great Void, Yasla, and the like to hell… I’m just an ordinary office worker… why should I rob and kill for others…” Chen Ke muttered to himself.

He pulled out his phone, found Pihom, Lester, and the others’ contacts, his thumb hovered over the delete option, hesitating.

“Swoosh…”

An eerie and familiar sound of slicing through the air came from afar, making him feel anxious. Chen Ke remembered hearing such a sound in the news.

It was the sound of a rocket launch, and it was very far away.

He looked to the right, seeking the source of the sound, only to see an orange object speeding through the air less than 2 meters above the ground.

His brain went blank, followed by an instinctive bodily reaction. Chen Ke threw himself forward and lay flat on the ground.

“Puchi-ka!”

A half-second later, a violent explosion erupted. The orange flames and the hot air wave reached Chen Ke, instantly lighting up the sky.

He got up from the ground only to see the Jaguar 20 meters away had blown up into a pile of burning scrap metal.