Given the significant number of Life Energy Crystals, Zhang Yanhang did not hesitate much. He just wiped them briefly and then stuffed them all into his mouth, thankful that each crystal was only the size of a thumb; otherwise, he truly wouldn't have been able to fit them all in one bite.
Because he had consumed twenty-one Life Energy Crystals at once, even though a single crystal could only provide a small amount of life energy, Zhang Yanhang almost immediately felt a surge of overwhelming life force within his body.
After carefully feeling it out, Zhang Yanhang discovered that these newly acquired Life Energy Crystals were nearly the same as the one he had obtained before, with each crystal roughly enhancing his Physical Recovery Speed and Stamina Limit by about 1%.
Considering them all together, and including the first one, it amounted to a 22% increase in both Physical Recovery Speed and Stamina Limit.
"Before, my Stamina Limit could only support me in using the Death Wave at full power and maximum coverage area four hundred times. Now, it should have roughly increased by another ninety times, allowing me to continuously use the Death Wave at full power and maximum coverage area four hundred and ninety times. But it's slightly regretful that I'm just ten times short of returning to my peak condition."
Of course, Zhang Yanhang was content. He was already in a very good state, capable of using the Death Wave in a small area nine hundred and eighty times. Rounding up, that could barely be considered a thousand times.
Concerning Physical Strength recovery, since after using the Death Wave Zhang Yanhang's Constitution Attribute had completely refilled his Physical Strength, preventing an actual test of Third Tier Physical Recovery Speed, he could only continue judging it by Second Tier standards.
Therefore, if evaluated using Second Tier methods, originally he could work continuously for twenty-seven hours and thirty-nine minutes before taking a ten-hour break, and now, that time had increased by over two hours, allowing him to work continuously for twenty-nine hours and fifty-one minutes before resting for ten hours.
The progress was quite evident. Rounded up, it was almost like he could work for thirty hours straight and only need to rest for ten hours.
If he calculated the work-rest ratio, it was roughly 2.99 to 1, still just short of the 3 to 1 work-rest ratio goal he had previously set, or, to put it another way, still just nine minutes short of reaching that goal.
"Sigh, if I had just two more Life Energy Crystals, not only could I have brought the number of times I can release the Death Wave back to peak form, but also the work-rest ratio would have reached 3 to 1. What a pity that this is all there is."
Zhang Yanhang even began to consider whether to actively trigger an option to have Multiple Choice help refresh a few more Life Energy Crystals, but after some thought, he decided against it. After all, this trip was mainly to test Passive encounters, not Active ones.
He felt that it would be better to wait until he really couldn't trigger an encounter passively before making an active choice.
Just as Zhang Yanhang was pondering this, he inadvertently took a step to the side, and then, as if by chance, the Multiple Choice option appeared before him. Time Pause descended instantly upon the Yellow Sea, a noticeable inertia emerged in the surrounding air, and the not-so-familiar text option box immediately materialized in front of him.
[Would you like to go to the Yellow Sea Area to seek Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures?]
[Option One: Head to Chao Lian Island (Although you've just found twenty-two seaweed Life Energy Crystals by following the traces of seaweed and have greatly increased your Physical Recovery Speed as well as your Stamina limit through the seaweed's Life Energy Crystals, your craving for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures has not been satiated.
You intensify your search for more useful Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Whether it's due to the large scanning range of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil, or pure luck, you soon find a juvenile Leviathan Core in the waters near the deserted Chao Lian Island in the Yellow Sea Area, for reasons unknown.]
[Option Two: Take a long nap when faced with difficulties (Perhaps because you've just acquired twenty-two seaweed Life Energy Crystals, your luck has run out, and no matter how hard you search, you can't find any other Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures or additional Life Energy Crystals.
After such a disheartening experience, adhering to the principle of taking a long nap where you fall, you make a reluctant new Search for a while before quickly leaving the Yellow Sea Area and heading towards Xingfuli District.
But what you never expected was a twist of fate. Although you didn't encounter any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Yellow Sea Area, you inadvertently discovered that a burger shop you passed by concealed a secret—a massive clump of aged sewer oil was being cultivated in its sewer, which when applied during battle could greatly increase your Resistance against Physical damage.]
[Option Three: Go to Quanluo Dao (While searching for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Yellow Sea Area, you unknowingly crossed the vast expanse of the Yellow Sea Area, spanning 400,000 square kilometers, and arrived on the opposite shore, in the country overflowing with capitalism closest to Qin Island City—South Korea.
Currently, in Lirang Station, Lingyang County, Quanluo Dao, South Korea, a believer of the Quanluo Sect, a branch derived from the local Eastern Learning Sect (originally called Eastern Learning Sect and later combining Catholicism to be renamed Heavenly Dao), is attempting to bomb the railway tracks and destroy the train in transit. By killing him, you can obtain dozens of high-quality Spirit Stones.）]
"How should I put it, option one—even using 'intensify' to describe me is quite derogatory. But I do have an immense desire for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures indeed. However, just what exactly is this Leviathan Core?"
Even though it was a juvenile Leviathan, just by hearing the name Leviathan, Zhang Yanhang felt that it must be incredibly formidable, so formidable that the option could only refresh for him a juvenile Leviathan Core and not a regular adult one.
Although the option described this juvenile Leviathan Core as 'appearing here for some unknown reason,' Zhang Yanhang knew all too well that it was obviously directly refreshed by the Multiple Choice—there couldn't be another reason. After all, a Leviathan Core couldn't just mysteriously pop up out of nowhere in a place like the Yellow Sea, right?
It would be one thing for other ordinary Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to appear; but a Leviathan Core with such a clear indication was definitely not some spontaneously occurring treasure from a mutation.
Of course, if you insisted that there was a whale here that suddenly mutated into a Leviathan and then died on the spot from the tremendous energy fluctuations of the mutation, leaving behind only this juvenile Leviathan Core, that wouldn't be impossible.
After all, there were indeed whales in the Yellow Sea Area; at least, ancient people frequently came here to capture whales. As for the probability of a whale suddenly mutating into the Demonic Beast Leviathan, that remained to be seen.
"Man, this 'Sleeping Through Difficulties' option looks seriously unreliable—having me go get years-old drain oil accumulated at a burger joint.
If this aged drain oil could permanently boost defensive power, I might put up with it, but the option clearly describes it as a one-time temporary boost, and you're supposed to apply it directly onto your skin. The restriction is simply too great; after all, who would be able to say to an enemy in the middle of a fight, 'Hang on a sec, I need to rub some oil'?
Even though I can pause time, it's quite obvious that I can't use Time Pause to apply oil. I must admit that this aged drain oil isn't much use to me."
Most of the time, Zhang Yanhang was only interested in Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that provided permanent enhancements. By the way, speaking of burger joints, he couldn't help but recall a certain Hua Oshi who had maxed out on his blast Specialization Runes, and there was even one near his home. He had no clue if the burger shop mentioned in the options on his way home was that very one.
But because he was utterly disinterested in the aged drain oil, Zhang Yanhang couldn't be bothered to explore further.
Compared to the second option, Zhang Yanhang found the third option much more interesting.
"Although I already knew that with money you can officially register a Cult in South Korea, I hadn't quite anticipated such rampant extents—starting right off with a suicide bomber, a terrorist attack..."
While Zhang Yanhang was relatively interested in this option, he was only interested in the Quanluo believers, not so much in the Spirit Stone.
Therefore, he decided not to go after all. Eliminating that Quanluo believer wouldn't benefit him. It's better to let things take their course; that way, at least when he hears about the explosion in the news, he could get a little mental pleasure from it.
Incidentally, given the way this Quanluo Sect operated, it seemed less like an amalgamation of Catholicism and more like it had absorbed the essence and mysteries of the Middle East Peace Sect, ditching the useless chaff completely.
Of course, it was also possible that the Eastern Learning Sect at the top was quite legitimate, but the Quanluo Sect had strayed as a branch. That's quite common—after all, the various Christian denominations like Catholic, New Teachings, and Eastern Orthodox emerged from centuries of religious warfare.
After reviewing all three options, Zhang Yanhang found that only the first option, the young Leviathan Core whose use he had no idea about, was the most attractive to him. As for what the young Leviathan Core was actually for, he would find out after consuming it.
"So, I choose Option One, head to Chao Lian Island."
Zhang Yanhang was quite familiar with Chao Lian Island. After all, it was a coastal island shaped somewhat like a large hook—of course, this hook was nothing like that other hook.
If we really had to compare it to that other hook, Crimson Island would be a closer resemblance since it not only looked like a slingshot, but also like an Armstrong Cyclotrone Jet Armstrong Cannon.
Chao Lian Island, on the other hand, looked more like a regular large hook, or maybe a fish hook that was straight at the top and bent at the bottom. Since the shape was pretty recognizable, Zhang Yanhang always remembered it clearly.
After all, he had just passed by there and was certain there had been no Leviathan Core, but now suddenly there was one. This could only mean that the Multiple Choice option had just been refreshed.
Abiding by the principle that delay could lead to unexpected changes, Zhang Yanhang immediately set off toward Chao Lian Island after making his choice. The route was familiar; he didn't even need to look at a map to find his way to Chao Lian Island.
It took less than half a minute for him to reach Chao Lian Island—since it was all sea around, everything was As Flat As A Pancake to him, hence the incredibly fast progress.
However, upon reaching Chao Lian Island, Zhang Yanhang didn't immediately find the Leviathan Core. He then carefully recalled the options and realized it mentioned that the Leviathan Core was in the waters nearby the island, not on the island itself. So, he began to patrol the surrounding area. Chapters first released on novel⸺fire.net
After several rounds, Zhang Yanhang finally discovered the Leviathan Core mentioned in the option some dozen nautical miles from Chao Lian Island.
At that time, the Leviathan Core was hidden inside the seabed rock layers, and it wasn't until after he broke open dozens of meters of seabed rock—almost causing a nearby undersea volcano to explode—that he finally unearthed the Leviathan Core.
By the way, if Zhang Yanhang didn't missee, he appeared to have also blown up a large cluster of marine biological fossils, retrieving the Leviathan Core from the pile of fossils.
"If we're talking about fossils, then this time the location where the Multiple Choice option refreshed the Leviathan Core's position seems pretty reasonable. At least it's better than telling me a whale mutated into a Leviathan."
Although it's common in the Main World for ordinary animals to mutate into Demonic Beasts, those native Demonic Beasts are undoubtedly mere underlings compared to the monsters from the Ashen World, posing no threat to the battle-hardened Awakeners in the Main World.
Like the Little Fox Demon Zhang Yanhang had encountered before, most could only be cute or perhaps bully ordinary people and Low-level Awakened who had just awakened.
Zhang Yanhang observed the Leviathan Core he had meticulously extracted from the fossils and found it didn't look very cool, as if someone forgot to add special effects.
Ignoring the vast energy fluctuations inside, this Leviathan Core looked more like an ordinary pebble, at most its surface was slightly blue, which made it appear mysterious. It was as though it was contaminated by chemical pollution, or maybe nuclear radiation—a pebble, no doubt.
But compared to any special effects, Zhang Yanhang was more concerned about its effects. So, he immediately popped the Leviathan Core into his mouth. Although he wasn't sure of the specific benefits, he knew eating it wouldn't be a loss—it became one with him, not wasted.
Immediately after swallowing the Leviathan Core, Zhang Yanhang instantly felt a familiar Warm current unfolding and expanding within him, gradually flowing through his body.