Chapter 5: Potential Exploitation

Just as Li Ruoxi was about to speak, Xiaoyu had somehow already sat down beside her.

At that moment, Xiaoyu wished she could find a hole to hide in. Running into a troublesome friend who sold her out before giving any benefits—was she worried that Xiaoyu couldn’t find anyone?

“Ruoxi and I are going to the restroom.”

Xiaoyu didn’t dare look Chen Mo in the eye and forcefully dragged Li Ruoxi away from the study area.

“Xiaoyu, I feel like you’re going to silence me.” Being pulled by Xiaoyu, Li Ruoxi felt uneasy and looked at Chen Mo: “As for the answer just now, you’ll have to ‘explore’ it yourself. Otherwise, someone might kill me. Remember, you owe me a favor…”

Chen Mo didn’t expect things to turn out like this. But after Li Ruoxi said that, he had a preliminary understanding of Xiaoyu.

Collecting his thoughts, Chen Mo continued reading the book in his hand. Right now, he felt like nothing else mattered except studying.

Before long, Xiaoyu returned alone to her seat, her face still slightly flushed.

“Ruoxi was talking nonsense just now. Don’t mind her.”

“She’s fine. It’s just a pity she didn’t tell me the final piece of information.”

As soon as he said that, the redness on Xiaoyu’s face, which hadn’t faded, instantly deepened, spreading to her ears. She turned away and continued reading.

Chen Mo smiled and focused his gaze on the book.

He read 10 books on drug illustrations and pharmacological analysis that morning. That was a good result. Combined with the 6 professional books he read last night, he had finished 16 books.

Elder Shu said that mastering 100 science and engineering books would earn him a technology. For him, that was a huge temptation.

He had also found all the drugs required for the Potential Exploitation technology.

After eating, Chen Mo walked Xiaoyu back to her dorm. He didn’t return to his own dorm but headed off-campus instead.

He had obtained the Low-Level Human Potential Exploitation Technology, and it wasn’t just for looking at. It contained methods for developing human potential, including prescriptions and usage instructions.

It sounded a bit mysterious.

However, he couldn’t conduct Potential Exploitation in the dorm; he had to rent a place off-campus to avoid exposing too much.

Renting near Binhai University was quite expensive—a one-bedroom, one-living room, and one-bathroom apartment cost 1,300 per month.

One advantage was that it was someone’s spare room, fully furnished, with a bathtube in the bathroom, which was convenient for his medicinal baths.

After paying two months’ rent and a deposit, seeing the meager balance left in his bank account, Chen Mo’s face fell. He needed to find a way to make money; otherwise, he would be wasting his powerful brain and the Science and Technology Library.

After tidying up the room simply, Chen Mo went to a nearby traditional Chinese medicine market to buy the required herbs.

The rent had already hurt his wallet, and the herbs made it worse. His already pitiful balance became even more miserable.

For low-level human Potential Exploitation, if it were a serum, only one dose would be needed. But for a regular medicinal bath, three sessions were required. This was just the beginning, so the required drugs weren’t many and were common herbs; otherwise, he might not have been able to find enough.

He bought two bags of herbs, 32 types weighing over 10 pounds, all ground into powder according to the recorded amounts and requirements.

The over 10 pounds of medicinal powder cost more than 1,500, which was why he felt the pinch.

Back at the rented apartment, following the instructions, he boiled some of the herbs in water and put the rest into the bathtub, adding hot water. It took over an hour of back and forth to prepare the medicinal soup.

Looking at the dark, steaming medicinal soup, Chen Mo swallowed hard, as if he’d swallowed a cockroach alive.

The medicinal soup looked a bit terrifying. If it hadn’t come from the Science and Technology Library, he wouldn’t have known what kind of weird stuff he was making.

He quickly took off his clothes, hesitated for a moment, and stepped into the bathtub.

Sss…

The scalding medicinal soup made his eyes widen, and he gasped, almost jumping out.

According to the records, refining this medicinal soup could extract a substance that activates human potential, forming a serum.

Without the equipment to extract the substance, he could only suffer.

What kind of weird science was this?

Enduring the intense heat, Chen Mo quickly submerged himself in the bathtub. His skin turned red from the scalding, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, streaming down into the medicinal soup.

Soon, overwhelming drowsiness washed over him, and he leaned against the bathtub, falling into a deep sleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Chen Mo regained consciousness.

The massive door of the Science and Technology Library stood before him. Without hesitation, Chen Mo pushed it open and entered.

“Elder Shu, does this stuff actually work?” Chen Mo asked with a pained expression when he saw Elder Shu. “I felt like I’d fallen into a boiling sewage pool.”

“Of course it does. Good medicine tastes bitter, and it’s not bath foam—did you expect it to be comfortable and fragrant?” Elder Shu said. “The heat opens your pores, speeding up the absorption of the potential-activating substance through your skin. It also promotes blood circulation, carrying it throughout your body to enhance the effect.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Chen Mo scratched his head. “After I wake up, there should be changes, right?”

“It’s already done. You’ll see the effects when you go out.” Elder Shu said. “Next, you’ll need equipment to adapt to your strength. Just follow the requirements.”

“Understood.”

After chatting with Elder Shu, Chen Mo closed the book and left the Science and Technology Library.

Passing through the light gate, Chen Mo, lying in the bathtub, slowly opened his eyes. The strong medicinal smell hit his nostrils, waking him instantly.

Sitting up in the bathtub, he saw the medicinal soup was still black, but the steam had vanished.

Rinsing off the residual medicinal soup from his body, Chen Mo noticed the changes. Walking to the mirror, he looked at himself in disbelief.

He had grown a bit taller. There were no bulging muscles, but his lines were even and smooth, looking very pleasing. When he tensed, the muscles hidden beneath his skin quickly emerged, radiating a sense of power and beauty.

Chen Mo felt like he had boundless energy, though he wasn’t quite used to it yet. According to the book, he needed to train to learn how to control and adapt to this strength.

“I’ve gotten handsomer again.” Putting on his clothes, Chen Mo touched his chin in the mirror, a narcissistic smile on his lips.

After cleaning the bathroom, Chen Mo left the rented apartment.

He bought a membership at a gym near the school. After eating, he hurried to the library.

On a weekend evening, the library was quite crowded. Chen Mo picked out a few books on computer science and headed to the study area, sitting down next to Xiaoyu.

Sensing someone beside her, Xiaoyu turned her head. When she saw Chen Mo, her eyes lit up slightly. She noticed that Chen Mo seemed different.

“Can you tell I’ve gotten handsomer?” Chen Mo whispered close to Xiaoyu’s ear.

Hearing this, Xiaoyu chuckled softly but ignored his narcissism, turning back to her studies. When Xiaoyu laughed, Chen Mo felt envious and jealous eyes from around the room falling on him.

This wasn’t the place to talk, so Chen Mo focused on the computer programming language book.

His money was almost gone, so he had to find a way to earn some. With his powerful brain, learning things was easier and faster for him—that was his advantage.

In this era, the fastest way to make money was through the internet, but the prerequisite was mastering computer technology.