Regarding the matter of awakening lightning abilities after transformation

"I can guarantee that." Gu Cheng usually pays great attention to hygiene, and after transforming, she even developed a slight obsession with cleanliness.

Looking at the pretty young girl in front of him, Mr. Liu realized she certainly didn't seem like the type to procrastinate.

"In this way, your first month's rent will only be 1,500."

"Huh?" The price was already far below Gu Cheng's expectations, but Mr. Liu still insisted on offering a discount.

"The extra five hundred is for you to change the lock cylinder." His daughter had also rented a place before, and everyone has their difficulties when they are away from home. Even if Gu Cheng didn't say it, he would bring it up on his own initiative.

"Um... thank you!"

"You're welcome. A young woman traveling alone should take good care of herself." Thinking of his daughter, Mr. Liu's tone softened, and he unconsciously said a few more words.

"I will, thank you both." Gu Cheng thanked the couple sincerely.

Section 17, Chapter Seventeen: The Greatest Invention in Human History

In the evening, a man dressed in a black coat walked into the office building. He was thin, with graying ends to his hair and a noticeable beard around his chin.

Song Shiyan took out a black card from his inner shirt pocket, swiped it lightly on the sensor, and the elevator doors opened with a ding. He took off his glasses, revealing bloodshot eyes.

As the elevator ascended to the top floor, he pushed open the office door and slowly sat down at his desk.

"Pour me a cup of coffee." A tired voice echoed in the room as the man leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

A moment later, rhythmic knocking came from outside the house.

"Please come in." Upon receiving permission, the secretary, dressed in a business suit, pushed open the door, placed a warm cup of coffee on the desk, and then quietly closed the door.

Sensing the rich aroma in the air, Song Shiyan opened his eyes and started up the laptop in front of him.

June 1st, June 4th...

As of June 30, a total of nine cracks have appeared in Lanjiang City and its surrounding areas, including six extremely weak cracks and three weak cracks. No cracks of higher intensity have appeared.

A click of the mouse reveals detailed information about the event on the screen, densely packed with black text and occasionally interspersed with images. The generation of a rift has an effect similar to an EMP, temporarily disabling all electronic devices present. This means the Hermit Bureau cannot capture firsthand information using surveillance footage. However, every coin has two sides; this characteristic also provides them with a means to detect rifts.

Song Shiyan picked up his teacup and took a sip; the bitter Italian coffee was surprisingly refreshing.

The two cracks that appeared at the beginning of the month were close together, one in the city center and the other in the suburbs. Further investigation revealed no clear connection between the two events, classifying them as low-probability events—uncommon, but not impossible.

"The number of cracks detected by the Lanjiang Hermit Branch has decreased slightly compared to last month. As things stand, everything is normal and no region has entered a period of frequent occurrences."

Song Shiyan wrote his views into a document, saved it, and sent it to the Hermit Bureau.

"Another month..." After finishing the rest of his coffee, he went into the bathroom to wash the teacup. The man in the mirror looked dejected, his beard disheveled. Song Shiyan coughed lightly as he looked at his unkempt appearance.

"How did it get like this..." He took the razor out of the box and carefully cleaned his stubble in front of the mirror.

Meanwhile, in an apartment building not far away, a beautiful young woman was taking a bath in a steamy bathroom with dark blue tiles.

Through the hazy light, one could glimpse her fair and slender legs underwater, their curves alluring, each arc perfectly proportioned. Her delicate collarbones were just emerging from the water, leading upwards to her smooth and translucent shoulders. Her exquisitely sculpted face was slightly flushed by the moisture.

Her expression was languid and lazy, yet possessed a pure and innocent beauty.

Gu Cheng squinted, and the light seeped in through the gaps between her eyes, warm and soft.

"Ooh~" The girl couldn't help but let out a soft panting sound as she stretched her arm out of the water, water droplets sliding down her skin.

Who invented the bathtub? It's definitely one of the greatest inventions in human history.

Feeling a sense of comfort throughout her body, Gu Cheng was in a dizzy state.

This is so...comfortable! If the agency had specified in the brochure that it came with a bathtub, Gu Cheng would have been willing to pay an extra hundred. Maybe even two hundred more; her peculiar thought process always worked incredibly fast when it came to these kinds of things.

"Woohoo." Gently puffing out her cheeks, Gu Cheng was completely unaware of how feminine her current movements were.

A full month had passed since her transformation, and during that month, Gu Cheng lived a monotonous life, going back and forth between her home and office. Miss Su had previously stated that her physical abilities would reach the level of an active-duty soldier approximately thirty days after awakening her powers.

Now that thirty days have passed, Gu Cheng indeed feels that her various physical functions have improved significantly. First, there's her speed; her offensive movements are gradually becoming faster than Zhou Li's passive defense, and she can even gain the upper hand occasionally. As for strength, in a head-on collision, she is still unilaterally overwhelmed by Zhou Li, and he clearly holds back his strength. This may be due to the difference in enhancement brought about by the male and female forms; women tend to focus on endurance and speed, while men tend to focus on explosive power. The massive amount of basic training has also given Gu Cheng a slight improvement in her combat awareness. Zhou Li praised her progress highly and then decisively defeated her.

This was just a friendly sparring match; in a life-or-death struggle, Gu Cheng wouldn't last a single exchange. Qin Kexin would sometimes come over as well. As a full member, she had to complete a sufficient amount of training each week. She had also sparred with Gu Cheng four or five times. Her fighting style was far less aggressive than Zhou Li's, but she could still defeat Gu Cheng within ten rounds.

The water in the bathtub was a little cool, so Gu Cheng added some hot water and changed to a more comfortable position, lying on her side.

They must be a couple; the details of their interactions these past few days have completely confirmed Gu Cheng's earlier guess. Every time Qin Kexin comes over, she gives Zhou Li a big hug, and before leaving, she affectionately pats his head twice.

However... she was only in her early twenties, while Zhou Li was already forty-one. The way he treated her was more like an elder to a younger person, with romantic feelings playing only a small part. Faced with the girl's passionate actions, Zhou Li was always unusually reserved, and the most intimate physical contact was limited to holding hands and hugging. Even Gu Cheng, an outsider, could vaguely sense the problem.

He is no longer a teenager, and he can't just consider the present moment.

The constraints of real life ultimately prevented this love from arising out of affection and ending with propriety.

Love... A cold and aloof figure involuntarily flashed through my mind.

Su Wanxi is a very punctual person. She always arrives on time, down to the minute. So much so that once she arrived early and waited outside for ages, only to be seen by Gu Cheng, who came out to get water.

"...She's quite cute." Gu Cheng felt like she really had a problem. Even though they saw each other every day, she still couldn't help but want to see each other more often. Even if they didn't speak, just standing quietly beside her would be enough. This feeling was hard to suppress; it was like a seed that would break through its shackles unexpectedly.

Before she knew it, she had been soaking for more than an hour. Gu Cheng picked up a bath towel from the shelf next to her and gently wiped her body.

Taking a bath is indeed too time-consuming. Before her transformation, she would take a bath for no more than half an hour. Now that she has a bathtub, she can lie down for at least fifty minutes at a time.

Everyone understands the logic, but the "it smells so good" mentality is human nature.

After a comfortable shower, Gu Cheng lay on the bed, glanced at her phone to make sure she hadn't missed any messages, and contentedly tucked her hands under the covers, drifting off to sleep.

The clock in the living room ticked away, and the moon outside the window quietly moved westward.

In the darkness, the girl suddenly awoke. Her eyes were not as gentle as usual, but rather sharp and cold. Unlike Su Wanxi's deliberate indifference, the feeling was more like the biting cold wind in the twelfth lunar month.

"Cough cough..." She coughed lightly as she got out of bed and walked somewhat hurriedly toward the living room, as if she wanted to prove something.

Relying on her memory, Gu Cheng took a glass from the cupboard, sat down in the dining chair, and quietly observed it, tracing the texture of the glass with her fingers as if she were kissing the skin of a lover.

Under the dim moonlight, the glass melted away inch by inch. In the span of just two breaths, the intact glass had vanished into thin air.

"Heh..." The girl chuckled softly, her eyes still cold.

She went back to her bedroom, pulled the covers over herself, and closed her eyes again.

P.S. I'm trying to increase my favorites every day, life is so tough ovo

Section 18, Chapter 18: The Assessment

She drew back the curtains, letting in warm sunlight. Gu Cheng threw back the covers, slipped on her brown bear slippers, and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the new day.

It was only seven o'clock, still a long time before work. She was eating a stack of dry bread with warm milk in small bites. A healthy lifestyle is the foundation of longevity, and having experienced a near-death experience, Gu Cheng cherished life even more.

I combed my long, flowing hair and then braided it into a neat single ponytail following the instructions online. I looked exceptionally energetic.

Dressed properly, she opened her door and bumped into her neighbor who was out for a run.

"Good morning, Ms. Gu." Her neighbor, a man in his early twenties, wearing a dark blue tracksuit, greeted her warmly.

"Good morning," Gu Cheng replied politely, her tone gentle. Ever since she moved in, she had noticed that this gentleman insisted on running every morning, and she would almost always run into him whenever she went out. They would chat for a few words occasionally, and that was how they knew each other.

The man's surname is Zhang. He is a college student who also lives alone in a rented apartment. If Gu Cheng were to go to college, she might have to call him "senior."

"Are you going to work?" Zhang Ye asked, his tone calm and natural.

"Well, I guess so." Gu Cheng smiled and nodded, brushing past him as she headed towards the elevator across the street. Zhang Ye slowed his pace, turned around, and silently watched her until her figure disappeared into the distance, before snapping back to reality with a sense of loss.

Gu Cheng didn't notice Zhang Ye's actions; she was thinking about what to have for lunch as she walked.

Minced meat and eggplant or green beans and beef stew? She'd already had the former for two meals in a row and was getting a bit tired of it, while the latter was difficult to control the heat; she'd tried several times but hadn't been able to stew the beef properly. "Hmm, I'll give it another try." After thinking it over, Gu Cheng decided to give it one more try; it's good to see things through.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the office building. In addition to Zhou Li, there was another person waiting here today.

“Mr. Song?” Gu Cheng was somewhat surprised. It had been almost a month since she last saw Song Shiyan, and he didn’t seem to be in Lanjiang City these days.

"Long time no see," Song Shiyan replied, putting down his documents and nodding.

"I heard from Su Wanxi and the others that you did well in your enlistment training." Zhou Li and Su Wanxi both had a good impression of this new member. He was diligent, hardworking, and had excellent mental qualities. He was a promising talent.

"Huh? I'm still far from good enough..." It wasn't modesty, but rather that Gu Chengzhen felt her level was inadequate.

“That’s enough.” Song Shiyan shook his head, without explaining what the standard for “enough” was.

"I will be conducting a professional assessment of you today, so you can prepare for a while." This was also his main purpose in coming here.

Upon hearing the word "assessment," Gu Cheng straightened up and focused all her attention.

"My ability can influence your dreams. The test content will be given in your dream. You will pass if you complete it according to my instructions."

Song Shiyan paused for a moment, and after confirming that Gu Cheng was ready, he continued.

"An assessment in a dream?" This was the first time Gu Cheng had ever heard of such a thing.

"Yes, this dream will be more realistic, and all your senses will be the same as usual." This means that she will feel pain just like when she is injured in the dream.

"I understand. When do we start?"

"Now." Song Shiyan made a cupped-hand gesture, indicating that Gu Cheng should sit down in the chair next to him.

......

The room was dimly lit, the worn wallpaper covered in dust, and several pieces of wallboard hung precariously in mid-air, seemingly on the verge of falling. Yet, in the center of this wall hung an old photo frame. A family portrait was faintly visible inside, as dilapidated as its surroundings. The faces of the man and woman in the photo appeared to have been gnawed by rodents, their original features unrecognizable. They held the hand of a child, about five or six years old. Perhaps due to its age, the child's face had also become blurred.

Gu Cheng opened her eyes and could barely make out her surroundings.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Beneath her was half a Simmons mattress, some parts of which had been worn through to reveal the steel spring coils inside.

"The assessment begins. Everything you need is on the table in front of you." A deep male voice echoed in the room, startling Gu Cheng. Memories of the training room slowly surfaced with the sound.

Right, this is an assessment. She stood up and walked to the table in front of her.

A military-grade belt, a flashlight encased in a sealed metal box, a multi-functional military knife, a revolver, and matching Magnum ammunition—Song Shiyan provided only this much, which meant it was more than enough.

The difficulty shouldn't be too high... If it were a man-portable rocket launcher on the table, she might as well give up and go to sleep.

He held a fully loaded revolver in his right hand, while his military knife was hung on the right side of his belt for easy access.

Gu Cheng glanced out the window; it was dusk, and the setting sun was like blood.

"The information mentions that Su Wanxi once led you on a mission. You should be familiar with the process of resolving the crack, so I won't go into details. The crack strength is between extremely weak and weak, and there is a time limit of sixty minutes for a single person."