Qi Absorption

Tang Yongrui's POV

Bit by bit, my concentration dwindled away as my body suffered more and more bites from the horde. No matter how much I whittle away on their headcount, the rabid humans kept on multiplying just like rabbits. If I cut one rabid human's head off, two more will emerge from afar. And pretty soon, my body couldn't keep up with the amount of rabid humans surrounding me.

After five minutes of desperation, my body finally fell forward as the autopilot died down. And the bad news was, I still haven't taken control of my body!

"Yongrui, you're going to die soon if this goes on!" The System voiced out with shakiness in her voice. It was obvious that the worst is about to happen and there was nothing we could do about it.

"Just give me a minute!"

Click!

<Ti-ring!>

<Congratulations! You've reached the Sixth-Level of the Spirit Realm.>

Swoosh!

With the prompt said, an overflowing amount of energy enveloped me, almost making me vomit pure energy from my mouth. It was like a huge boulder was placed on top of me, weighing me down the more I tried to resist. But instead of panicking, I continued on my cultivation in hopes that this power would be enough to fight back the virus.

Because there were a lot of rabid humans in the area, specifically the rabid humans that I eliminated, the amount of Qi Energy in the area was too much that it was getting too hard for me to breathe. I could feel the heaven and the earth putting their pressure on me as if I was the burger in between a bun.

"AAAGHHHH!!!!"

I couldn't help but unleash an ear-piercing scream that had Liu Zhi and the others covering their ears. Well, it's not that I assumed that they were covering their ears, I could see them by the edge of the forest, looking out for me. They were probably trying to find an opening so they could rescue me.

Oh no, my consciousness is slipping away, even my consciousness in my mind...

Is this the end?

Will the Virus really overtake me so easily like this?

.

.

.

Slash!

Tip, tap, tip tap.

Swoosh!

From the edge of my consciousness, I could feel someone, fighting the rabid humans in place of me. And according to the movements I heard, I could tell that that person wasn't even breaking a sweat. Just like a surfer intricately riding the waves and swells of the sea, his footsteps gracefully outmaneuvered the Horde, reducing their numbers down as he slashed some sort of weapon.

By the sound of it... is that a katana?

I can't tell.

But with him around, I know that at least, Liu Zhi, Wu Yan, and Blade would be safe.

I wonder, will I still receive experience points if I became a rabid human just like this?

"Yongrui, Yongrui! Can you hear me?" The System faintly called out.

"Yeah, just barely. Can you scream so I can hear you clearly."

"You know I'm in your head, right? I can feel that our consciousness is slipping away... but I have a solution in mind. It might be risky but I'm sure you can pull it off."

"What is it this time? If you tell me I have to bite a living person, then I refuse."

The System paused for a split second. I could feel her slipping away but nevertheless, I decided to listen to her last request before I turned into a mindless rabid human again. The Virus has completely taken over my mind and I only have a few seconds left to live.

Who would've thought that I will be spending my last moments talking to a System... This is my third time on the verge of death and yet I still haven't gotten anything from life.

How bothersome.

To think that I've received these many chances and then I'd have to die like this?

"Yongrui, Yongrui!"

"What do you want, I'm having my sweet time reminiscing my bittersweet life here. Just let me die in peace!"

"But... Just please hear me out this last time! I think if you focus on stabilizing your Virus Qi Core right now, you'll be able to take control of your mind again. After that, it will be easier to stabilize your original Qi Core! Please, this is our only chance."

"Fine, but if you can minimize the pain I'll feel when my original Qi Core goes out of control, I'll be pretty grateful."

"I'll do what I can." The System reassured me.

I could feel that the presence of the rabid humans around me was already gone. That one person with the katana probably annihilated all of them. If that was the case, then even if I turn into an infected right now, Liu Zhi and the others are guaranteed their safety with him around.

Taking a risk in stabilizing my Virus Qi Core instead of both cores simultaneously wouldn't hurt anyone except me. There's nothing to lose here and there's everything to lose if I don't take this risk. Going with this thinking, it was safe to assume what I chose as I decided to cultivate once more.

From the atmosphere, I could feel the Qi energy that came from the dead rabid humans, swirling up and around like an electrical surge that had no way to go. And the fool that I was, I decided to gather them while I was cultivating my Virus Qi Core.

Now, was that a good idea?

No.

"Yongrui, what are you doing?" The System asked. Her presence is somewhat stable now, unlike before when she was slipping away just like my consciousness. "Are you crazy?"

"But doesn't it feel like a waste? There's lots of energy lying around here." I reasoned out, but deep inside, I know that this is a bad idea. "I won't get another chance like this."

"So this is the reason why you asked me to minimize the pain you'll experience?"

"That's right!"