Chapter 12: Gaining Weight

Ying Li wanted to formally recognize Xiang Ye as a sworn younger brother, but he didn’t rush to bring it up with him.

He and Xiang Ye had only just met. Proposing such an idea unprompted might scare him.

Over the next several days, Ying Li didn’t leave the house.

He wasn’t the type to enjoy going out. Besides, there was nothing particularly scenic in the Upper City District worth seeing. He spent his time at home playing games.

The Underground City was incredibly cramped and resources were scarce, with many residents struggling just to eat enough.

Yet, the online entertainment available was vast and plentiful.

Games, videos, novels—the variety was no less than before the Great Cataclysm. Some might even argue it was greater.

Many people, aside from working and sleeping, devoted all their remaining time to the internet. After all, if you didn’t go online, there wasn’t really anywhere else to go.

Ying Li was also quite fond of playing online games. But in his last life, he had been far too busy to find the time.

During the few days he returned to the city, he had to keep Wu Nian company, recover from injuries, and handle various other matters. Outside the city, he couldn’t even connect to the network.

Now, at last, he had the time to play games.

But truthfully, most of his time was spent sleeping. Half of what remained went to exercising. So the time he actually spent playing games each day was only about four hours.

This was the first time Ying Li had ever slept so much.

In the past, when he was out in the wilds, he would just grab the odd, fleeting moment to nap. When he returned to the city, he would rest, but never to the extent of sleeping over a dozen hours a day.

But now, he’d sleep a solid nine hours each night. After waking up in the morning to eat and exercise, he could nap for another two hours. Afternoons were similar.

Adding it up, he was sleeping at least thirteen hours a day.

Sleeping this much day after day was clearly not normal. But Ying Li could feel, unmistakably, that all this sleep was benefiting him.

His body was observably improving by the day.

It wasn’t until ten days later that Ying Li’s sleep duration returned to something more normal.

Yesterday afternoon, he had finished his workout without a hint of drowsiness. This morning, he felt as though he had boundless strength, energy surging through him.

Ying Li walked over to the mirror and studied his vigorous reflection with satisfaction.

His complexion was excellent, and he had also gained some weight overall.

He had been somewhat lanky before, so even with a bit more flesh on his bones, he was still on the slender side.

What delighted him the most, however, was his Mental Sea.

Right now, he was still young. Even without a Guide to perform Mental Combing for him, his Mental Sea remained stable. But even so, there were always some minor turbulences inside.

Now, however, his Mental Sea was exceptionally tranquil—even more settled than when he had first awakened as a Sentinel!

A stable Mental Sea was a colossal asset to a Sentinel. A Mental Sea in this state would let him go much further along his path.

He even felt that his combat strength now rivaled his capabilities shortly after he had become an A-Rank Sentinel in his previous life.

The effects of those “Heavenly Treasures” in the wilds were truly incredible… Ying Li felt the urge to venture outside the city again.

After all, he still knew the locations of two other such “treasures”.

As far as he knew, both were less potent than the mushroom he had consumed earlier, but they still provided significant benefits to Sentinels.

One of them, he had discovered himself. The other had been found by another member of the Yu Family Hunting Team.

Back then, being inexperienced and ignorant, he hadn’t recognized what he had stumbled upon and had handed it over to the Yu Family. In the end, all he got was a paltry reward of one million Credit Points.

Yu Mingwei had later told Wu Nian about him receiving the bonus, and Wu Nian, in his delight, had preemptively spent nearly a million on a few luxury items.

That incident was exactly what prompted him to make a special trip to the Bank to limit Wu Nian’s credit spending cap.

After that whole ordeal, he himself had gained no benefit whatsoever. But at least he could consider himself lucky.

The other person who had found a treasure had recognized what he had unearthed and intended to secretly keep it to take home for his own child to use.

But whenever the Yu Family Hunting Team returned to Starlight City, all members had to first stop at the Yu Family’s shop at the Surface Exchange to turn in whatever they had hunted. During this time, the Yu Family would also secretly scan the hunters.

The item that person had hidden was discovered.

The Yu Family didn’t make a public fuss. Instead, they arranged an “accident”, killing that Sentinel and taking the treasure for themselves. Later on, his family was also slaughtered, tragically “happening” to run into a rampaging Sentinel who killed every last one of them.

That rampaging Sentinel had been arranged by the Yu Family.

And the reason for annihilating the man’s entire family? That Sentinel’s son had astonishing talent. The Yu Family feared the boy would grow up seeking vengeance against them, so they decided to strike first and kill him.

These were things Ying Li had learned from a certain individual within the Yu Family Hunting Team—someone who harbored a deep hatred for the Yu Family.

That person was a friend of the Sentinel who had inadvertently found the treasure. He was also the one who had told Ying Li the treasure’s location.

Hunters venturing outside the city would occasionally stumble upon miraculous encounters and find rare items of great value, but Ying Li only knew what those people had found—not the exact locations.

Only these two items, whose coordinates he knew for certain, were within his grasp to obtain when the opportunity arose.

“Mr. Ying, lunch is ready!” Xiang Ye’s voice rang out.

Ying Li opened the door and stepped out, laying eyes on Xiang Ye.

He had put on a little weight; Xiang Ye had done the same.

Walking up to Xiang Ye, Ying Li placed both hands under Xiang Ye’s armpits, lifted him smoothly into the air, and gently bounced him as if weighing him.

This was exactly how adults often lifted small children. Xiang Ye, suddenly subjected to this treatment, stared blankly at Ying Li, his face a mask of disbelief.

Ying Li smiled and said, “Not bad, you’ve gained about ten jin.”

The current Xiang Ye was already up to sixty jin! This was a delightful and heartening development!

Those nine boxes of Nutrient Paste every day certainly hadn’t been eaten in vain!

Dangling in mid-air, Xiang Ye felt that the way Ying Li was looking at him could almost be described as doting.

Could Ying Li seriously be treating him like a child to raise?

“Someone your height needs to reach at least a hundred jin to look well. And your growth plates haven’t closed yet, so you can still grow taller… Eat up, and fight hard to gain. Once your weight doubles from what it is now, your body will be healthy.”

When he had encountered Xiang Ye in his last life, Xiang Ye was about 1.7 meters tall. In this life, with Ying Li providing food and drink, Xiang Ye should be able to grow even taller.

Feeling very pleased, Ying Li set Xiang Ye back down, a sense of accomplishment rising in his heart.

He genuinely enjoyed taking care of someone else. It probably stemmed from a need to feel needed.

When he was small, he was willing to go without food himself to keep his little brother alive. Later, he supported Wu Nian. A pity that both instances ended poorly.

His younger brother was jealous that he was a Sentinel while he himself was not. Ying Li could clearly perceive his brother’s malice.

Being in close quarters with someone who resented him was never enjoyable, so he had eventually distanced himself from his brother.

As for Wu Nian, the outcome was even worse, needless to say.

He wondered how things would turn out with Xiang Ye.

Ying Li’s mind wandered for a moment, but he quickly snapped his thoughts back to the present. He addressed Xiang Ye. “Xiang Ye, after lunch, could you help me by preparing a few dishes? I want to give them to someone as a gift.”

Only then did Xiang Ye snap out of his daze. “Mr. Ying, it’s no trouble at all! I’ll get started on it right away!”

He was the housekeeper. Making food for Ying Li was his duty. How could it be considered any kind of trouble?

“Great.” Ying Li smiled and rattled off a few dishes he felt Xiang Ye made particularly well, asking him to prepare them.

He had mostly recovered. Ying Li planned to visit one of his teachers from the Sentinel Academy later and, while he was out, purchase a few things. Tomorrow, he would head back outside the city.

He couldn’t just keep staying at home. His current apartment’s rent alone was twenty-five thousand Credit Points a month. His expenses were truly starting to stack up.

When it was time to eat, Xiang Ye, as usual, only ate the Nutrient Paste placed in front of him.

Seeing this, Ying Li transferred some of the cooked side dishes into Xiang Ye’s box to supplement his nutrition.

“Mr. Ying, eating so much Nutrient Paste already gives me enough nutrition,” Xiang Ye mumbled. Nutrient Paste was fortified with all sorts of trace elements; its nutritional profile was excellent.

Especially given the sheer amount he ate!

Ying Li gave him three boxes of Nutrient Paste per meal. He always ended up very full and unbelievably happy.

“I say eat, so eat,” Ying Li stated matter-of-factly, and then started on his own meal. As he ate, he complimented Xiang Ye’s cooking several times.

The food Xiang Ye made was truly delicious. His teacher was sure to love it.