Chapter 41 - 37: Food Crisis

Chapter 41: Chapter 37: Food Crisis

Stepping into the Cowhide Realm brought Xu Mo surprises that went far beyond mere physical improvements. Over the next few days of adaptation and training, he discovered another change—one that was unexpected, yet made perfect sense. His marksmanship had improved along with his new strength!

This improvement didn’t stem from more practice, but from a leap in his physical control.

Previously, when he shouldered a rifle—especially when aiming the heavy AWM sniper rifle for extended periods—he had to rely on breath control and minute muscle adjustments to stay steady, even with his superhuman core strength. But now, Xu Mo felt as if his arms, shoulder blades, waist, abdomen, and even his legs were rooted to the earth, completely motionless. The crosshairs in his high-powered scope were so stable they seemed etched onto the target, eliminating nearly all subtle, unnecessary tremors. This absolute stability provided the most solid foundation for precision shooting.

Furthermore, the annoying muzzle climb from firing the AK-47 on full auto had now become much more manageable. His powerful bones and muscles gave Xu Mo stronger control over his firearms. The impact from the recoil was now absorbed and dispersed more efficiently by his body.

The enhanced nerve-reflex speed from his breakthrough also applied to his shooting. When firing at moving targets, Xu Mo felt the entire process—his eyes tracking the target’s trajectory, his brain calculating the lead, and his finger pulling the trigger—had become smoother and quicker. The feeling of perfect coordination, where mind, eye, and hand worked as one, was more distinct than ever.

One could say that breaking through to the Cowhide Realm had optimized Xu Mo’s "feel" for guns on a fundamental, physical level. It forcibly elevated his marksmanship from its previous plateau, pushing him to a level that could truly be called an "elite marksman." Now, Xu Mo was confident he could neutralize threats faster and more accurately under even more complex conditions.

Of course, great power came with a corresponding price, a fact Xu Mo would soon come to understand intimately.

And that price was hunger. An unprecedented hunger.

That afternoon, after finishing a high-intensity workout that included Pile Training, impact resistance drills, Cold Weapons practice, and physical sprints, Xu Mo felt an unprecedented wave of hunger assault his stomach. The sensation was even more ferocious than the weakness he’d felt before consuming the medicinal herbs on the night of his breakthrough. It was a pure, cellular-level craving for energy.

He practically threw himself at his food stores, first wolfing down enough rice and vegetables to last his old self two days, yet it felt like it barely took the edge off.

Xu Mo then devoured five high-energy chocolate bars in a row and chugged an entire large bottle of soda before the scorching hunger in his gut was finally, barely, suppressed.

Xu Mo roughly estimated that in this single sitting, he had eaten three to four times his usual amount! And that was just his consumption after a routine workout. He dared not imagine the terrifying amount of energy he would burn through in a high-intensity battle or if he had to maintain his "Cowhide" state for an extended period.

’I’m a human furnace...’ Xu Mo thought, the corner of his mouth twitching as he looked at the significant dent in his food supply.

At this rate, the food he’d thought would last him all winter with plenty to spare wouldn’t even last a month. And that didn’t even account for his additional need for medicinal herbs to nourish his body and solidify his Cultivation Level.

A resource crisis, in a completely unexpected form, now confronted Xu Mo once again. His increase in strength had, paradoxically, made him more "vulnerable"—his need for energy had become incredibly demanding.

Another discovery, one that was both frustrating and amusing, had to do with his Power Control.

During his Cold Weapons practice at noon, while executing a swift turning slash, Xu Mo subconsciously channeled his energy, and the power in his arm surged. The Mountain-Cutting Saber in his hand struck the target dummy with precision, but the armrest of the wooden chair he was casually leaning on with his other hand—the one holding his towel and water bottle—was not so lucky.

CRACK!

With a sharp snap, the sturdy, solid wood armrest shattered in his casual grip as if it were rotten wood. Splinters rained down from between his fingers.

Xu Mo stared at the wooden fragments in his hand, stunned for several seconds before shaking his head in resignation.

He knew this was a classic sign of his body not yet having fully adapted to the surge in power; his control lacked finesse. The Cowhide Realm had granted him immense strength, but it was like an untamed stallion that needed time and practice to break in before he could wield it with both precision and ease.

Xu Mo looked around the second-floor room he had painstakingly turned into a fortress. He was genuinely worried that one day he might exert too much force or make too much of a commotion while testing his defenses and stomp right through the floor. That would be a real disaster. Falling to the first floor in the dead of winter, even if he wouldn’t get hurt, would be absolutely miserable.

’I shouldn’t stay here long... no, I mean, I shouldn’t train here anymore,’ Xu Mo decided on the spot.

After spending some time, Xu Mo cleared out the storage room on the first floor. The ground floor was solid concrete, and there was plenty of space for him to move. Although it was colder than the second floor, to someone with his current formidable physique, the chill was practically negligible.

Here, he could test his strength and conduct more intense training without worrying about demolishing the house.

With the training area problem solved, the next and most pressing issue was food.

Relying solely on the daily meals from the "Welcome, Have a Taste" diner was clearly not enough to fuel the terrifying consumption of his "human furnace" body. Xu Mo knew he needed food that was more energy-dense, easier to store, and more portable.

Xu Mo thought of the MREs and compressed biscuits he had scavenged from the "Ammunition Storage" and the "Gun Room" on his second visit. That stuff was extremely high-calorie, nutritionally balanced, and exactly what he needed right now.

It was time to use his "door" ability again.

Xu Mo found a new piece of cardboard. After a moment of thought, he used a thick marker to write three large words: "Emergency Food Warehouse." The label was specific enough; its intent should be unmistakable.

He swapped this new label for the previous single-use one, sticking it onto the door he often used to access stable supply points.

When the countdown finished, Xu Mo took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

A soft light shimmered, and the sight before him made his spirits soar.

Behind the door was a standard warehouse. Tall metal shelves stood in rows, neatly stacked with cardboard boxes printed with words like "EMERGENCY," "HIGH-ENERGY," and "COMPRESSED RATIONS." The air was thick with the faint, mixed smell of oils and grains.

Time was short. Xu Mo’s eyes darted around, rapidly scanning the area.

He first dashed toward the shelves marked "High-Energy Compressed Biscuits." These things were incredibly dense; a single biscuit could provide an adult’s caloric needs for half a day. Without a moment’s hesitation, he began hauling out entire cases. The boxes were heavy—each one probably weighing several dozen kilograms—and filled with individually vacuum-sealed biscuits.

Next, Xu Mo spotted cases of "Energy Bars" and "Protein Bars." While their taste was likely monotonous, they were extremely high in calories and protein—perfect for rapid energy replenishment. He took those by the case as well.

In a corner, Xu Mo even found a large supply of canned mixed nuts and military-grade chocolate—excellent sources of fats and sugars that he certainly wasn’t going to pass up.

Xu Mo made the most of every single one of his sixty seconds. He moved like a tireless transport bot, shuttling back and forth at high speed. Outside the door, boxes of all sizes quickly piled up into a small mountain.

As the final second ticked away, Xu Mo was back in his post-apocalyptic reality. Staring at the "mountain of energy" before him—enough to last him a month or two—he finally let out a long, deep sigh of relief.

With this supply of high-energy food as a backup, he could now train in peace, solidifying his Cultivation Level in the Cowhide Realm and perhaps even pushing toward the next stage.

After everything was done, Xu Mo sat down in his new first-floor training room, picked up a compressed biscuit, and took a forceful bite. It was hard and the taste was bland, but as it settled in his stomach, he could feel a solid wave of heat slowly being released.

He chewed the "tasteless" fuel source, all the while sensing the surging energy within his body and the power, tough as leather, that he could now call upon at will.