This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 292: Relationships on the Verge of Freezing Point

Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Relationships on the Verge of Freezing Point

Chen Ke was moving swiftly and covertly along the street when suddenly his phone began to vibrate. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a call from Lucina.

"Have you finished what you were doing?" Lucina’s voice came through the phone, deep and husky, with a hint of a Latin accent.

"When do you plan to have dinner? I’m on Raffi Road, what do you feel like eating? We can reserve a good spot in advance," Chen Ke replied.

He hadn’t had much experience dining alone with a girl, let alone sharing a meal, his experiences were limited to departmental team-building events, so he found it somewhat tricky.

"I think you’d probably like Fei Huang Restaurant. If it were up to you, what kind of restaurant would you choose?" Lucina asked with a laugh.

"I’m not fussy about food... I’ll leave it up to you tonight," Chen Ke said, looking up to dodge a pedestrian.

"That just gives me a headache, I’m not very good at picking restaurants either," Chen Ke admitted.

"Um... funny, I’m not that great at it either. Maybe you could ask your friend Diana, she should know where couples like to go on dates," Lucina suggested with a laugh.

"Oh, good idea, but I don’t really want her to know who I’m going on a date with," Chen Ke chuckled.

"Why not?" Lucina countered.

"What do you mean why?" Chen Ke asked.

"Aren’t you supposed to be friends with Diana who can talk about anything?" Lucina scoffed.

"You seem to have gotten something wrong, miss. And as far as I know, it’s been a month since the bank heist, and you’re still thinking about that..." Chen Ke pointed out.

"What about after that, Mr. Mad Fak? You told me you had some experiences with her after that, God knows what, maybe pleasant and comfy for you," Lucina said.

"That’s not the point, Lucina, let’s just talk about what to eat tonight, shall we?" Chen Ke didn’t want to explain to Lucina.

"Maybe you’ve asked her the same question, probably more patiently than when discussing with me," Lucina laughed.

"Damn it, Lucina, let’s not beat around the bush with this, it’s not that important," Chen Ke sighed.

"It is important, more than you think," Lucina said seriously.

"I’ll explain it to you after dinner, but just this once, Lucina, just this time," Chen Ke said.

"I’ve changed my mind, Chen Ke, let’s just go for drinks tonight, I’m not really hungry today," Lucina declared. From the other end of the phone, Chen Ke heard the sound of a package being torn open.

"Suit yourself, which bar? What time?" Chen Ke inquired.

"9 o’clock tonight, Insmouth Bar in the Deep Anchor District, you have Google Maps on your phone, right? I don’t think I need to give you directions," Lucina said, amidst the crunching sound of chips.

"No problem, I’m not a child," Chen Ke huffed.

"It’s still early now, you have time, Mr. Mad Fak, do whatever you want, I’m far away and won’t stop you," Lucina said sarcastically, and then hung up.

"Ah...patience...patience..." Chen Ke pinched the phone and put it back in his pocket, sensing that Lucina’s emotions were bordering on hysteria.

In fairness, Chen Ke didn’t owe her anything; he hadn’t done anything to her, but rather had saved her.

For a long time after the rescue, Chen Ke found himself in a lot of trouble and couldn’t clearly define his feelings for Lucina.

This Hispanic girl, both in looks and physique, actually appealed quite a bit to Chen Ke. She exuded a sense of strength and wildness, and her figure was like those of the models on gym posters, yet she often inadvertently revealed a little girl’s foolishness.

Diana gave Chen Ke a different feeling. If Lucina was a violent woman with the body of an adult and the heart of a girl, then Diana was a naïve woman who was by-the-book, inflexible, but had a blindly righteous heart.

Chen Ke’s feelings for Lucina were ambivalent; he couldn’t express them directly, but wouldn’t deny them either. As for Diana, he had only respect, admiration, and friendship. Diana would be a powerful ally, her identity and connections useful to Chen Ke.

Chen Ke hadn’t been close to a girl before, and he wasn’t sure if he was suitable for such matters right now, though he was seriously considering it. He didn’t want to drag Lucina into his own troubles.

In the Transcendent realm, the firearms Lucina held would be useless; she’d be torn to shreds by all sorts of bizarre creatures that wouldn’t hesitate to chew her flesh, devour her innards, and gulp her blood.

He couldn’t fight the uncanny things while also protecting a friend who was worlds away. Now, Lucina wasn’t his weak spot, though she was close to becoming one, but that wasn’t really a good thing.

Only the cold-hearted could touch the extraordinary in this dangerous world, becoming entangled in mundane emotions would only weaken oneself. Transcendent and ordinary were separated by a thin line, and Chen Ke had one foot on each side. He couldn’t decide which foot to move.

When his life expectancy reached 135 hours, Chen Ke felt rejuvenated, not mentally—as he wasn’t very anxious even when the limit was only 20 hours, given the human capacity to adapt—but physically. Chen Ke had no heart, but he always felt as if he could hear a sort of pulsation.

It wasn’t a heartbeat, but some kind of energy pulse, fluctuating in strength, pulsing. He held his chest, still unable to feel the beating from within, but he could feel the pulse was there.

At the same time, he had mastered a new ability; the blond young man he had touched earlier had fallen into a state of time suspension. This state would consume Chen Ke’s lifespan, meaning Chen Ke used his own life to strip away the other’s flow of time.

Of course, this consumption was also cruel; after suspending someone, Chen Ke’s lifespan would drain twice as fast every second.

But he couldn’t deny that this ability was godlike. No matter how strong the opponent, once touched by him, any advantage of speed, strength, or energy was null; the enemy would become like a statue, waiting for Chen Ke to destroy them. Even if he couldn’t win a fight, he could freeze and escape.

It wasn’t just about attacking; this ability had many uses that could be developed. With enough creativity, anything was possible.

Chen Ke suddenly had a brainwave, picking up a discarded newspaper from the ground. He focused his mind, and his right hand manifested a thin membrane.

The wrinkled newspaper, when touched by Chen Ke’s right hand, immediately froze in shape. He swung the corner of the paper back and forth, but the air didn’t affect it; it remained just as wrinkled as when it was suspended.

Chen Ke then grabbed the newspaper, crumpling it into a ball. When the time suspension ended, the newspaper stayed in its crumpled state. It seemed that after time suspension, only he could change the target’s shape.

He then aimed the paper ball at a nearby trash can and threw it. The moment it left his hand, he activated the time suspension ability again.

He thought the paper ball would stay suspended in air, but it still arced and fell into the trash can.

Chen Ke understood that this ability, to stop time, only affected the target itself and not its acceleration state; that is, if a Spiritual Ability User charged at him and he stopped time at the moment of impact, the target would still fly forward due to inertia but would fly out and fall to the ground in a charging state.

"This ability does have its limitations, but it’s quite impressive," Chen Ke appraised.