If you slap me, the whole world will suffer the same harm.

No, wait a minute.

(・_・)

Lin Chen suddenly remembered a question.

This scroll is temporary; it will be gone once the war is over.

What if the Beastmen come back?

Once the side effects kick in, it's basically like waiting to die.

He's at 312 now; if an emergency occurs, he might be beyond saving.

No, wait a minute.

(・_・)

Lin Chen suddenly realized an even simpler way.

Why would he go and fight for them one by one?

Why rush to use the 24-hour upgrade item?

Why not just improve everyone's strength first and let them fight on their own later?

"that……"

Lin Chen raised one hand, indicating that he had something to say.

The ward fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

The light shining in those eyes made Lin Chen feel like a little white rabbit surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves.

(๑•́₃•̀๑)

He shrank back and spoke cautiously.

"Hey everyone, I have an idea..."

"explain!"

"Say it!"

"What are your thoughts?"

Everyone urged in unison.

Lin Chen cleared his throat and organized his thoughts.

"Aren't you robbing me? Fighting for you city by city is exhausting, to be honest."

He scratched his head.

"I feel completely drained right now. My legs are so weak that I can barely walk. If you asked me to go to war right now, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to climb the city wall."

The group looked at each other in bewilderment, only then realizing that Lin Chen had indeed just experienced a "catastrophe".

(；￣д￣)

"So you mean...?"

Zhao Wuji asked tentatively.

"What I mean is," Lin Chen revealed a mysterious smile, "instead of making me run from city to city, I'd rather just improve everyone's strength and let you fight yourselves."

The ward fell silent.

It was so quiet that you could hear the wind rustling through the leaves outside the window.

Then......

(°Д°)

"What?!"

The military bigwig was the first to jump up, his eyes wide as saucers and his mouth agape enough to fit a fist.

He stared intently at Lin Chen, his voice trembling.

"What...what did you just say? Say it again?"

"I said," Lin Chen shrugged, "I'll directly help you improve your overall strength. You guys go fight yourselves; I won't follow you around."

"Improve overall strength?"

Another military leader's voice rose eight octaves, sharp as a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Overall strength? Are you sure you mean the whole group, not just a few individuals?"

"Yes, overall."

Lin Chen nodded, looking completely matter-of-fact.

"Otherwise, promoting them one by one would be too slow; of course, we should promote everyone together."

(￣ ▽ ￣)

The atmosphere in the ward became eerie.

The ten human-level powerhouses looked at each other in bewilderment.

The four principals were dumbfounded.

The expressions of several military leaders were even more interesting... Some had their mouths agape, some pinched their thighs hard to make sure they weren't dreaming, and others kept picking at their ears, wondering if they had misheard.

(((ﾟДﾟ)))(((ﾟДﾟ)))(((ﾟДﾟ)))

"impossible."

A deep voice broke the silence.

All eyes turned to the speaker... He was an old general with three stars on his shoulders, his gray hair was neatly combed, and his face was full of crisscrossing wrinkles, each wrinkle hiding decades of military service.

His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and he was scrutinizing Lin Chen with a critical gaze.

"young people."

The old general spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but every word carried immense weight.

"I've been in the military for fifty years and have seen more superhumans than you've eaten salt. While the ability to enhance individual strength is rare, it does exist... Some S-rank amplification-type superhumans can do it, and even some rare and precious materials can."

He paused, his gaze becoming even sharper.

"But an overall strength increase? I've never even heard of such an ability, let alone seen it. Even those Heavenly-level powerhouses in advanced otherworldly realms couldn't simultaneously increase the strength of hundreds of thousands or millions of people. What makes you, a young man not even twenty years old, think you can?"

Lin Chen opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Wang Gang spoke first.

"Old General."

Wang Gang's tone unusually carried a hint of politeness.

"Lin Chen's abilities... truly cannot be understood using common sense."

He glanced at Lin Chen, his lips twitching as if recalling some unbearable scene.

"Do you know how this kid won today's battle?"

Wang Gang's tone became subtle.

"He took a packet of laxatives."

The old general was stunned for a moment.

"I know that, it's group-wide damage!"

"But... what does this have to do with improving overall strength?"

He asked with difficulty.

"It's a big deal."

Wang Gang crossed his arms, his expression so profound it seemed he was expounding some philosophical principle.

"Think about it, one person taking laxatives can cause twelve million beastmen to have diarrhea... This shows that his ability 'acts on the group.' If he can make people have diarrhea, why can't he make them stronger?"

The old general fell silent.

The other bigwigs who had never witnessed Lin Chen's abilities also fell silent.

(・・)(・・)(・_・)

Their gazes swept over Lin Chen, as if they were examining a rare species they had never seen before.

There was doubt, curiosity, expectation, and a hint of excitement in his eyes.

"Then let's give it a try."

The speaker was another high-ranking military officer, a burly man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, who looked like a seasoned and fierce general.

He slapped the table, making the water glass on it jump.

"Since Lin Chen is confident, let's give him this opportunity, starting with Longdu, and let him give it a try... Anyway, there's no loss if he fails, and what if he succeeds..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present.

"If it succeeds, it will be a momentous event that changes the fate of all mankind."

"agree."

Zhao Wuji was the first to raise his hand.

"agree."

Chu Lingyun followed closely behind.

"agree."

"agree."

One by one, people in the ward raised their hands. Finally, even the old general slowly raised his hand. Although there was still a hint of doubt on his face, his eyes were already burning with anticipation.

(๑ • ̀ ㅂ • ́) و✧

"Then it's settled."

Wang Gang made the final decision, then looked down at Lin Chen.

"Kid, do you need to rest for a few days?"

Lin Chen examined his weakened body and answered honestly.

"Three days."

"it is good."

Wang Gang nodded.

"Three days later, I will personally escort you to Longdu."

---

For the next three days, Lin Chen lived like an emperor.

(￣▽￣)✧

Hangzhou University arranged the best nutritional meals for him... S-grade ingredients specially taken from high-level alien beasts hunted in the Alien Beast Forest, each bite can replenish a large amount of vitality and mental energy.

It is said that just one bowl of soup can awaken superpowers in an ordinary person on the spot.

Meanwhile, Su Changhe also arranged for the school's beautiful female tutors and the school's most beautiful girls to take turns looking after him every hour.

Lin Chen instantly felt an urge to stay lying down and never get up.

The military went even further, sending three level-nine ability users to guard downstairs, claiming it was to "protect Lin Chen's safety."

Lin Chen felt that they were actually afraid he would run away.