Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi..

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Arriving at Danger Zone 5

A week’s intensive computer course ended, and Ye Nai made sure she had no more parcels in transit, then checked out and left.

She first bought the adjustable-height shelves she had her eye on, which fit perfectly across the 10-meter wide wall in her square space. Each shelf was set with two planks lowered to accommodate storage boxes of uniform size for organizing various sundries; the others were for bulky items in whole boxes, such as boxes of household goods and seasonal quilts.

She then moved into a hotel near the furniture market, bought all the necessary furniture for the rental home, especially a new solid wood single bed, which she assembled on the spot, placed the mattress on, and then stored in her space.

Leaving the market, she had her hair cut at a barbershop on the street, a female version of a men’s haircut, slightly layered at the front with the back cut short like men’s hair, prioritizing easy washing and summer cooling.

Finally, she went to an electronics store and bought appliances like a refrigerator, washing machine, and oven.

Feeling reassured, she slept soundly in the hotel overnight, checked out early next morning, and went to buy a bus ticket to Danger Zone No. 5.

...

She boarded the bus at 8 AM, taking a half-hour rest at two rest areas, and arrived at the destination past 3 PM.

The streets were really desolate, nowhere near as bustling as Danger Zone No. 1. The infrastructure was good, the roads were intact, looking newer though they were built around the same time.

However, the proximity to the towering Plane Channel was palpably near, creating a sense of oppression within the city view; closer still, this pressure became suffocating.

Ye Nai glanced once and then averted her eyes, releasing a large amount of spores while heading to the hotel she’d booked, waiting for the fungi to replenish her energy.

After asking the front desk for directions, she went to apply for a work pass for the area. When the staff entered her name and ID, pop-ups in the system identified her as a Space Awakened, with specifics of her space capacity at 1000 cubic meters, which impressed them.

“With such a large space capacity, are you interested in working deep in the Danger Zone? We really need Space Users with large volumes.”

Ye Nai shook her head.

“I’ve just awakened. I have the space but no skills; I just want to do waste management.”

“No problem, we have an official Awakener Training Hall where you can receive various types of training. If your training results are good, you could even get a pass to enter the Secret Realm.”

“Secret Realm? Is that the Plane Channel?”

“Yes, it’s a natural environment inside, hence commonly known as the Secret Realm; ‘Plane Channel’ is the official term.”

“No wonder the SIM card I bought is called ‘Secret Realm Special Card’.”

“Haha, did you buy a dual network phone? Then you must be planning to enter the Secret Realm, right? Train well, and you’ll achieve your goals.”

“I hope so,” Ye Nai responded.

“With your large space, don’t take the ordinary routes. I’ll give you a map; take the Awakener’s route. You’ll transport more at once and earn more, thus covering your training costs.”

“Alright.”

Ye Nai took the small map the staff pulled out from a deep drawer and thanked them before leaving.

Storing the map in her space, she headed to find the Training Hall.

The structure was located on another street, covering a wide area, similar in scale to large comprehensive malls seen online, straightforwardly named the Awakener Training Hall.

She entered through the main entrance; the entire first floor was spacious with a reception area, sofas, and coffee tables. Ye Nai noticed a few men and women resting and drinking tea, exuding a strong presence. She didn’t dare to look too closely and hurried to the reception.

This was her first time visiting such a training hall and wanting professional training, a complete novice. The receptionist directly helped her to download and install the hall’s mobile app, requiring just the authorization binding of her Awakener app account for direct login, and she finally understood what the consistently grayed-out ‘Training Level’ in her personal profile meant.

“We are the Training Hall under the Awakener Center, with a complete set of Training Levels. You can only be granted weapon-carrying privileges when you reach the required level. The Training Levels are recognized nationwide, so no matter which city’s training hall you go to in the future, they will acknowledge it,”

“Have you created a personal business card? You can add your Training Level to it as well.”

“The app will recommend training according to your level. Since you are a complete beginner with no achievements yet, you should first take a free newbie test. This will measure you in various aspects and help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, which will be beneficial for targeted training in the future.”

Following the receptionist’s instructions, Ye Nai located the free test for newbies and scheduled it for an hour later before she went out to grab something to eat and returned to the hotel to change into sportswear and looser shorts and short sleeves.

Using the navigation on her phone, she went up to the second floor, first finding a coach at the coach station who would be responsible for guiding and recording throughout the entire test, taking her through each item one by one.

As a rookie, her presence even attracted the staff at the coach station to come and watch the spectacle.

“Is this really your first time here?”

“Why would a newly awakened Awakener like you not go to other safer hazardous areas, but come here instead?”

“I heard you can make good money here,” Ye Nai honestly replied.

The coaches chuckled, then a female coach came up, put a heart rate band on Ye Nai, and first took her to measure her height and weight.

It was then that Ye Nai learned her height was 1.72 meters, 7 centimeters taller than before, and her weight was 68 kilograms.

She had a well-proportioned physique, a short torso, long legs, and muscles compactly filled with strength. With her boyish haircut, she looked almost like a man from behind.

The coach examining Ye Nai was very satisfied with her physique.

“Have you really never trained before?”

“No.”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

Ye Nai rolled up her short sleeves to her shoulders, revealing her beautifully defined arms. If it weren’t her own flesh, she wouldn’t believe they were untrained either.

“I truly haven’t. I’ve only worked for two months in Hazard Zone 1,” she confessed.

The female coach’s face wrinkled with disbelief.

“You know, right? Women have far less testosterone than men, making it hard to build muscles. Yet your muscles are practical. You say you’ve only moved trash for two months, it’s not normal to build such muscles, especially since you’re a Space User.”

“Maybe I’m exceptionally talented?”

“Very likely. Come on, let’s see how strong your talent is.”

The female coach led Ye Nai to the side of the room to warm up, perform flexibility exercises, and move her joints, also testing her balance, all of which she completed with ease, without getting flushed or breathless.

Next, they went to the treadmill. Starting with the slowest speed to warm up, they increased the speed by one notch every 15 minutes to see how long she could last.

When the treadmill reached its maximum speed, Ye Nai’s rhythm never faltered. The coach, watching her run and seeing the minimal fluctuation on the band’s screen, was astounded.

For anyone else, running like this would have resulted in rapid breath and profuse sweating. But Ye Nai’s breathing and heart rate only fluctuated slightly when the speed changed and dropped as soon she maintained a steady speed. Her clothes showed no signs of being drenched, and she managed effortlessly throughout. It seemed as though such running speeds were as easy as a walk in the park for her, not even reaching the point of fatigue.