Chapter 89: System Upgrade (First Chapter After Launch, Please Subscribe!)

"System upgrade!"

When the mechanical voice of the system echoed in his ears, Chen Feng suddenly snapped to attention, realizing that he had unwittingly accumulated ten thousand achievement points. It seemed his earlier decision had been correct—taking the college entrance exam early, scoring a perfect top mark, and then losing weight and sharing his inspirational story over three months had created a powerful buzz.

Though there had been many top scorers in the history of the college entrance exams, none had caused as much of a sensation as Chen Feng. All the discussion centered on him, and under such circumstances, it was nearly impossible for him not to attract attention.

With that in mind, Chen Feng immediately opened the Extraction System. After the upgrade, the system interface hadn't changed much; the only difference was that where it once displayed Level 1, it now read Level 2.

"System, now that you've upgraded to Level 2, what benefits do I get?" Chen Feng asked impatiently.

"The system is now at Early Level 2. The host can extract an Early Level 2 hero every three months, with a certain chance to obtain a Mid or High Level 2 hero," the system's cold, mechanical voice echoed in his ear. "Additionally, the host can now freely select and combine Level 1 heroes once a month."

"Freely selecting and combining Level 1 heroes—that's quite a useful feature," Chen Feng mused to himself, then continued, "System, what does Early Level 2 mean? Are there also Mid and High Level 2 stages?"

"Level 2 is divided into three stages: Early, Mid, and High," the mechanical voice continued in his ear. "Upgrading to Mid Level 2 requires one hundred thousand achievement points. High Level 2 requires five hundred thousand achievement points. To reach Level 3, the system needs one million achievement points."

"What the—!" Chen Feng was momentarily stunned, feeling as if a stampede of wild horses raced through his mind. One million achievement points! After becoming the top scorer, creating such a stir, he'd only managed to gather a little over ten thousand points. Even after the buzz died down, he'd be lucky to reach twenty thousand. And now this cursed system was telling him he'd need one million points to reach the next level. One million!

And this was just Early Level 2. There were still two more stages above! What kind of system was this, anyway?

Ignoring Chen Feng's inner outburst, the system continued in its mechanical drone: "In addition, the host can now extract abilities to grant them to others, but this requires double the achievement points."

"I can extract abilities for others?" Chen Feng's mind raced as he quickly asked, "So, I could extract Captain America's super soldier serum and give it to my parents?"

"Yes," the system replied coldly, "but each extraction requires one thousand achievement points."

"Each time?" Chen Feng frowned. "If I first inject my parents with the serum produced by Captain America's body, then give them the complete serum, would that make the full version cheaper?"

"No," the system replied. "The host can grant abilities to others, but it will always cost double the achievement points. It does not become cheaper if the recipient already possesses that ability. To reduce the cost, the host must further upgrade the system."

"Good grief," Chen Feng muttered. It seemed there were still many abilities to unlock with further upgrades.

Before he could say more, the system's voice echoed again: "Furthermore, the host can now store ten heroes. All Level 1 permissions are fully unlocked; the system will input all relevant information into your mind without the need for further exploration."

Hmm?

Before Chen Feng could react, he felt a flood of information pour into his mind, layer upon layer, with all Level 1 permissions completely open to him—no more need to experiment.

The system's Level 1 permissions actually included quite a range of abilities. Previously, Chen Feng had discovered on his own that he could extract someone's appearance, temporarily becoming someone else, or replicate their voice. He could also extract metals from ores, water from plants, or medicinal essence from drugs, and so forth—over a dozen different abilities.

"Wait, I can also extract the abilities of insects?" Chen Feng suddenly noticed this in the information in his mind.

"Yes," the system replied. "This system allows you to extract abilities from insects, animals, and plants."

Chen Feng's thoughts flickered. He remembered the popular web novels, where the protagonist merged with ant genes and instantly gained immense strength. Supposedly, ants could lift over four hundred times their own weight, and once the protagonist fused with their genes, they'd become superhuman.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng immediately asked, "System, can I extract ant genes? If I do, will it further enhance my body?"

"Yes," the system replied. "However, you must be cautious. This system is not responsible for any side effects resulting from extracting ant genes."

"Side effects?" Chen Feng was taken aback. "What kind of side effects?"

"Human genes are entirely different from ant genes. If you fuse with ant genes, your own genetic structure may be damaged, resulting in side effects," the system responded coldly.

"What could happen?" Chen Feng couldn't help swallowing nervously.

"If you fuse human and non-human genes, unpredictable results may occur. The different genes may devour or proliferate within one another. There is an eighty percent chance the host will become a non-human entity," the system droned. "In severe cases, the host may lose human intelligence and become a lower life form devoid of intellect. The consequences are yours to bear."

"What if I turn into a monster? Who will be responsible for that?" Chen Feng muttered with a wry smile. "So that's how it is! No wonder the Level 1 permission includes extracting insect abilities—the real issue is that, while you can extract them, doing so risks turning you into a non-human being!"

Now that he thought about it, Chen Feng found it unbelievable. In those web novels, protagonists who fused with insect abilities always remained human. Did the authors never consider the possible consequences?

"Things aren't as wonderful as I imagined," Chen Feng sighed, then asked in a low voice, "Can you provide me with a Level 2 hero to extract now?"

"Level 2 heroes will be available in September," the system replied. "For now, you may freely combine Level 1 heroes."

Chen Feng clicked his tongue. This system upgrade had granted him many privileges, but combining Level 1 heroes left him momentarily indecisive. Which hero should he create? He couldn't decide at the moment.

Then a flash of inspiration struck him—there was one individual whose personal combat ability was mediocre, yet his actual power far surpassed Captain America, and, as far as he remembered, this individual counted as a Level 1 hero.

With that, Chen Feng declared, "System, combine a hero for me at once. His name is Tony Stark—Iron Man!"

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