Fear of food

Chapter 104 Ability Originates from Pollution

Chen Qi had once asked Xu An'an to retrieve high-end jianbing guozi for him, and he himself had once carried a Class B contaminant disguised as a syringe around, so he never thought it was a difficult task.

I only just realized that removing advanced sources of pollution from their contaminated areas is something that requires "capability" to do.

Peanut said, "We are guiding Lin Ning to expel the pollutants from her body. You should digest the pollutants in your body as quickly as possible, and then you can directly and seamlessly consume the pollutants from Lin Ning's body."

Is the fourth premium wild food item ready?
This is probably the easiest high-grade wild food that Chen Qi has obtained, and it is foreseeable that the process of eating it will also be the easiest.

Chen Qi had a lingering question, and now he seized the opportunity to ask, "Regarding ability upgrades, I only know that consuming three servings of high-grade food will result in a qualitative change in your abilities. What about after that? Will consuming six servings of high-grade food result in a second qualitative change?"

The idea that "a qualitative change occurs every three years" has always been just a guess by Chen Qi and his colleagues, and has never been confirmed.

Consuming the first two servings of high-grade food only improves basic attributes or abilities; only a "qualitative change" can be considered a true ability upgrade.

The reason why Chen Qi's small team was weak was that everyone had only experienced one qualitative change in ability at most. Xu An'an, Zhui Feng, and Gan Shui didn't even get to eat a second serving of high-grade food.

The entire team relies on their ultimate abilities to deal damage.

Peanut shook his head: "I don't know, there hasn't been anyone whose abilities have undergone a second qualitative change yet."

Chen Qi's eyes widened in disbelief: "With the official power, they've recruited hundreds of ability users, yet not a single one has completed a second qualitative change?"

The mirror said slowly, "It didn't exist before, but it should appear soon after Corning City enters the second stage of pollution."

"What do you mean? The qualitative change in capabilities is also related to the stage of pollution?"

The mirror nodded slightly: "From your perspective as Xeno-Eats, after completing the first qualitative leap in your abilities, the drop rate of high-grade food drops sharply. Even with the mobilization of national resources, only a very small number of Xeno-Eats have managed to find the fourth or fifth high-grade food. The sixth high-grade food is impossible to find no matter what; it feels like the drop rate is zero!"

"We Dream Thieves are similar; once our abilities undergo a qualitative change, it becomes very difficult to find advanced dreams."

Peanut explained, "According to the expert analysis above, it is generally believed that our capabilities are also part of the pollution, so the pollution level directly determines the upper limit of our capabilities."

Is capability part of pollution?

Chen Qi agreed with this view, after all, without pollution, these people wouldn't have these strange abilities.

Even their ability upgrades rely on pollutants; high-grade food itself is converted from polluted energy.

Determining whether a food is "high-end food" is inherently subjective and idealistic; the standard may vary depending on individual circumstances.

Even Chen Qi was no exception. Back then, he was able to gain an ability boost after eating a high-grade jianbing guozi, which was likely the lowest-level E-grade pollution source.

Now that his abilities have undergone a qualitative change, if he encounters an E-level pollution source again, can he still judge it as a "high-grade wild food" that can upgrade his abilities?

The answer is probably no.

Just as he would suffer from indigestion from a Class B pollution source, a Class E pollution source might be too low-level for him now, far from enough to enhance his abilities.

This principle also applies to other ordinary pica sufferers.

As capabilities improve, the standards for "high-end food" become higher, but pollution levels limit the emergence of high-end food.

"So, at most, Jinghai City's pollution level can only support one qualitative leap in its capabilities, unless it also upgrades its pollution level like Kangning City and enters the second stage."

“That’s right,” Mirror said. “So those ability users who fought in Corning City relied on their weak abilities, which had undergone a qualitative change, to fight the Nightmare Clan, and the results proved to be ineffective.”

Peanut said, "Jinghai City has accumulated enough pollution power to upgrade its pollution levels, but the Nightmare Clan will not upgrade its pollution levels on their own initiative unless we push them."

"But Biscuit, you're different. There's another reason why the higher-ups value you: your ability to improve might not be limited by the level of contamination!"

After a moment's thought, Chen Qi nodded and said, "It seems that's indeed the case."

Regardless of whether the pollution level escalates or not, the source of pollution remains!

He can't even handle Class B pollution sources, let alone Class A and Class S. How can he not support his second qualitative leap in capabilities?
The mirror said enviously, "So, you have the potential to master the ability to use a more advanced version!"
-
After Peanut and the mirror left, Chen Qi went to the bathroom and observed his own condition in the vanity mirror behind the sink.

His body seemed to have become even stronger, and in addition, the abnormality on his back began to show signs of shrinking.

"The derivative food still hasn't appeared, but it looks like I'm gradually digesting the remaining high-grade wild food energy in my body."

Chen Qi estimated that once the abnormality on his back completely disappeared, it would mean he had completely digested the candied hawthorn. As for the Nightmare Eater… it hadn’t made a sound since he ate its head.

I don't know if it's injured, lying dormant, or dead and waiting to be resurrected?

Last time, Chen Qi ate the Nightmare Eater in the illusion, and he was resurrected in just a few hours. This time, he has not felt any weakness from the Nightmare Eater's resurrection.

However, Chen Qi did not lower his guard against the Nightmare Eater. The scene of looking in the mirror in his dream just now also shows that he still regards the Nightmare Eater as a major threat.

"Next, I just need to follow the development path planned for me by the authorities, first digest the pollutants in my body, and then consume the pollutants on Lin Ning's body..."

Peanut promised to help him acquire new sources of pollution and assist him in consuming six high-grade wild foods as soon as possible to see if he could achieve a second qualitative leap in his abilities.

After a quick wash, Chen Qi went out.

He went to the nearest market to his residence, where villagers from the surrounding villages would come to buy daily necessities.

This is also the only place with a relatively large flow of people nearby, and Chen Qi can only come here if he wants to find some wild food.

As expected, the villagers passing by ignored the unusual thing on Chen Qi's back.

Chen Qi wandered around the market for half a day and only managed to find four or five pieces of wild food. Later, he went to the ancestral halls in the surrounding villages and searched for seven or eight pieces of wild food.

He kept two pieces for himself and gave the rest to Baozi.

Zhui Feng and the others were all sent by Baozi to the city to hunt for high-end food. Chen Qi was left with nothing to do. He opened his phone and looked at the "Jinghai Food Hunting Group" group chat, which had no unread messages, and couldn't help but feel a little lost.

Although Coffee wasn't the most active person in the group, the group seemed to become quiet after she left.

Just then, my phone rang twice in quick succession, and two new messages appeared in the group chat.

Chasing the Wind: Good news, buddy! I've found a second premium takeout!
Chasing the Wind: The bad news is that it's a popular restaurant chain with trendy packaging, featuring barbed chopsticks and a liquid spoon—all the essentials are there.

Big Pancake: Congratulations! After eating this, you'll have mastered your supernatural powers and developed an iron stomach!
Swill: It's just a pile of scraps of food, nothing to me.

Chasing the Wind: I can't compare to you. We're not even the same species. Dogs can eat poop, but can humans?
Big Pancake: What did the dog do to you?
The three exchanged a few words, and Chen Qi joined in to liven up the atmosphere.

The people in this group are all ruthless when it comes to food; those who try to get a good meal through group buying are definitely out of luck.

After chatting for a while, Zhui Feng exclaimed: "I have to admit that the official efficiency is really high. Not only did they open a privileged account for me, allowing me to take orders like crazy, and to cancel orders like crazy, but I also didn't have to worry about being banned or having to pay compensation."

Chasing the Wind: In addition, a group of people were organized to help me pick up the food. We only needed to pick it up and didn't need to deliver it, which maximized the efficiency!

Swill: I was sent directly to the largest garbage treatment plant in Jinghai City, where the garbage is sorted and processed. You can find high-end food directly in the kitchen waste, which is more efficient than the previous coffee arrangement.

The resources that the authorities can mobilize are far greater than what coffee can provide. At this rate, Chen Qi's teammates will be able to complete their first qualitative leap in ability very soon.

Seeing that Chen Qi was somewhat idle, Baozi suggested, "If you have nothing to do, you can go to the city to find more wild food. Remember to prioritize wild food with fillings and wild nuts."

"Stuffed and nut-filled?"

“That’s right. Can’t you use our abilities by processing wild food? I can only process stuffed food, and the captain can only process nuts,” Baozi said. “Currently, although your ability to devour Nightmare Clan is strong, your biggest weakness is that you are still fragile and your attack range is too short.”

"If you can combine it with the abilities of other people, your combat power can jump to a whole new level!"

Chen Qi's eyes lit up. Among his teammates, only Xu An'an could relatively easily process his wild food, but Xu An'an did not have the ability to transform it.

However, each of these officials has undergone a qualitative leap in their abilities. If we could utilize their abilities, it would indeed greatly enhance our combat power!
"Also, we've got news about a few of the people you asked me to keep an eye on," Baozi said, placing the tablet in front of Chen Qi.

A news report is playing on the screen: An explosion has occurred at Jinghai Medical College, resulting in injuries and deaths among faculty and students. The cause of the accident is still under investigation…

“Our raid on Jinghai Medical College last night was declared an accident by the school, and some of the parasites’ injuries and deaths were also attributed to this accident.”

"Xia Huiyun's name has appeared on the list of deaths announced by Jinghai Medical College. This is the first time that a parasite has been confirmed dead by its workplace and family after being killed. It is unknown whether this means that she cannot be resurrected."

"As for Bian Zihan and the female student you mentioned, both of them are still alive, but they have been diagnosed with mental disorders and may have to be sent to a mental hospital."

(End of this chapter)