The so-called "innate" state refers to the ability of internal energy to circulate on its own. Although it may not be as fast as during actual practice, the overall speed is far beyond what can be achieved through meditation. Moreover, like Zhang Lei, there are limits to the duration of meditation and practice. It's not simply a matter of working hard; excessive practice can even damage the meridians or the dantian. Damaged meridians can be remedied, but damaged dantian, without any special spiritual resources, renders one useless, and at most, one can only practice external martial arts in this lifetime.
In fact, Zhang Lei's internal energy had already made him a master of the innate level from the very beginning. However, at the beginning, this innate level master did not absorb external energy, but rather absorbed more of his own internal energy. This was not as good as moving something from the left hand to the right hand, because things would wear out or fall off during the movement.
If a true master of innate talent were here, he could easily send these fugitives back to their mothers' wombs and back to the furnace with a wave of his hand. Unfortunately, Zhang Lei is not one, at least not now. So he can only resort to this somewhat helpless and cowardly idea. Heh, he really is a bit cowardly!
Old Nine, unwilling to give up, toyed with Zhang Lei's penis while simultaneously kissing him all over. Zhang Lei mentally conjured countless images of using his invincible inner energy to snap the ropes, then slap Old Nine into a bouncy mess between the rooftop and the ground. Unfortunately, that was just a fantasy. All Zhang Lei could do now was struggle haphazardly under Old Nine's foul mouth, afraid to make any sudden movements. Who knew what other perverse fetishes Old Nine might have? If he moved too much, it would remind Old Nine of something else, and things would get even worse.
These people hadn't been here long, and just like a beautiful woman's excrement still stinks, this handsome guy's mouth, if left unwashed for a while, would also stink, maybe even more. This stinky mouth kept leaving foul-smelling saliva on Zhang Lei's face and body. Zhang Lei could only try his best to completely purse his lips, constantly careful not to let the stinky mouth touch him. Having figured out how to protect his virginity, all that was left was to protect his first kiss; as for his face, he could just pretend it was being licked by a dog.
After trying for a long time, Zhang Lei still didn't react. So Lao Jiu pulled down hard, and Zhang Lei's tightly pursed lips instantly loosened. He kept gasping for breath, "Ouch!" Zhang Lei even wondered if his lower body had been torn off. That bastard! Fortunately, Lao Jiu seemed to have lost interest and didn't take the opportunity to steal Zhang Lei's first kiss.
However, Zhang Lei wasn't foolish enough to glare at him. The wisest thing to do at this moment was to take the opportunity to squat down, and Zhang Lei sobbed, "I'm so scared, Mom, save me! Waaaaah..."
"Damn, this kid's probably scared out of his wits. Old Nine, why don't you find another one? Not everyone can be scared out of their wits!" One guy gave Zhang Lei the answer he was hoping for.
"I'm not interested anymore, damn it!" Old Nine turned his head away, somewhat disheartened.
For some reason, Zhang Lei felt a little disappointed after hearing this. His disappointment wasn't that Lao Jiu hadn't pursued him further; it was that Lao Jiu hadn't even considered the other handsome boys in the class. Many of the boys in the class were quite good-looking, like Tian Zhiguo, Song Yadong, and...
This is actually a common human psychology. If you are the only one who is unlucky, you will feel that the whole world has lost its luster. But if someone is unlucky with you, even if your own experience does not change, you will feel much better. Zhang Lei has always been very honest with himself.
After this farce, the entire cave seemed to fall silent, save for the occasional chatter of the escaped convicts and the sobs of the students.
In the Changbai Mountain region of Northeast China, there are many mountain roads that are winding mountain roads. These roads are built according to the terrain. Although they are asphalt roads, many places are very dangerous and become frequent sites of traffic accidents.
The most famous section of road here is known as the "Eighteen Bends," a dangerous stretch even for experienced drivers who are extremely cautious. It's even more perilous for first-timers; even on a sunny day, one could fall to their death at the bottom of the cliff.
Here's a not-so-funny joke: It's said that a car mechanic from a factory went down the mountain to collect parts and, spending only a few hundred yuan, managed to assemble a car. Whether it's true or not, it at least indirectly illustrates the number of car accidents here. This road has a nickname among drivers: "The Road of Death."
Normally, if locals want to go south, they don't take cars; they prefer to take the train, even though it might be less flexible in terms of time. They're just intimidated by the journey.
From the occasional casual chatter among the prisoners, Zhang Lei pieced together the gist of what had happened. He guessed that during the transfer, the prison van carrying the prisoners overturned halfway down the mountain. Since the prisoners' wrists were handcuffed to the crossbar on the roof, which acted as a safety belt, most of them were unharmed. However, two of the guards died in the rollover, and the rest were also taken to their deaths.
Originally, there were two accompanying motorcycles, but their superiors underestimated the winding roads. The two-stroke motorcycles stalled halfway through, leaving them to push the rest of the way. The prison van set off first, intending to wait for them at the next branch office, but it was involved in an accident on the way.
They found a house, stole several axes from it, and smashed the shackles. No matter what's inside a mountain villager's house, there are bound to be a few axes.
It just so happens that a prisoner had come here when he was a child and had played adventure games with the local children. He knew that there was a cave here where he could hide temporarily.
Even in the sweltering summer heat, the cave was much cooler, at least ten degrees lower than outside. This was beneficial for the two more seriously injured men, so they settled down in the cave.
When Zhang Lei and his group entered the cave, their best option was to hide for a while and wait for the group of students to pass before returning, which wouldn't have caused any problems.
Unfortunately, two of them were seriously injured. It took a lot of effort to carry the two wounded men up the mountainside, and it would be difficult for them to carry two more people out. Falling from such a height, it was a miracle they didn't die; expecting them to be completely unharmed was wishful thinking. They even took turns going up the mountain.
It would be better to subdue these students while neither side knows the other's background, which would buy some time. At least their parents won't find out before dark, and if no one knows they're here, they won't be able to find this place for a while, giving us more time.
At the beginning, they intimidated the students with the seemingly fierce-looking fourth and sixth brothers; otherwise, if a fight had really broken out, the outcome would have been uncertain. However, they also had a pistol that wasn't damaged, which they had taken from the escort. Although it only had a few bullets and they were hesitant to use it, having a gun as a backup gave them more confidence.
They didn't say much, and Zhang Lei could only glean so much from their words. Of course, he had to guess a lot of what they said, and he wasn't sure if it was accurate.
Zhang Lei can use internal energy to change or enhance certain parts of his body. He discovered this when he was repairing his body. At that time, he found that using a little more internal energy could reconstruct muscle fibers according to the original shape of the body. The same principle applies to bones.
However, this cannot be created out of thin air. There is a protruding bone on the wrist, and although he doesn't know what it's called, Zhang Lei wants to modify it to create a bone spur, or rather a bone blade. That's why Zhang Lei used the posture of stacking his two wrists together when he was binding the wrists.
Zhang Lei kept his eyes closed, still feigning a panicked expression. The already protruding bone in his left wrist slowly bulged out again. He had filled the bones with vital energy many times, but this was the first time he had to create a new bone from the outside. In truth, Zhang Lei was somewhat unsure of himself.
Bones are even finer than muscles, and the same amount requires more internal energy. This sounds simple, but in practice it's not so easy. Muscle fibers are a microscopic matter; to make even a slight difference in appearance requires countless muscle fibers. Bones are even more demanding. Making bones protrude slightly requires a lot of internal energy, but the effort itself is incredibly tedious, especially in this environment, which makes it even more nerve-wracking.
Moreover, there is still a layer of flesh on the outside of the bone. Although Zhang Lei had chosen the thinnest spot, it would still hurt just as much to have the bone slowly squeezed out from the inside.
Zhang Lei let out a soft breath. A small, sharp thorn finally pierced through his flesh, and blood dripped down. Fortunately, there was already some blood from their noses on the ground, so the blood mixed in didn't look too conspicuous in the dim firelight.
Zhang Lei's internal energy was quite effective on this small wound; it healed in just a few minutes, and the bone spur seemed to have been there all along. All that remained was to further refine it, shaping it into a blade shape, which should wear the rope down in no time.
Zhang Lei made the bone spikes very sharp, so it wasn't difficult to cut the rope made from the clothes. None of the difficulties Zhang Lei had anticipated occurred, and no one noticed what the boy, who was still sobbing and convulsing, was doing.
Zhang Lei was certainly not stupid enough to run away the moment the rope broke, or to instantly transform into Superman to rescue his compatriots. He knew that their earlier talk about the pistols was mostly meant for the students, to warn them not to act rashly even if they had the chance. Right now, Zhang Lei had no confidence in fighting the pistols, let alone any of the weapons in the room.
As the saying goes, the older you get in the world of martial arts, the more timid you become. Zhang Lei may not be considered a seasoned veteran, but his control over his body is unmatched, not even by seasoned veterans or those who have long since died in the martial arts world. Therefore, Zhang Lei is also very clear about what he can and cannot do.
No matter how well organized, there will always be a few students who spoil the fun, and this place is no exception. Several students refused to participate in the expedition, citing other matters. But now they are precisely Zhang Lei and his group's saviors; otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy for them to guess that Zhang Lei and his group had come here for an expedition.
Zhang Lei can only absorb vital energy from the outside world through internal energy cultivation. After more than three years of continuous strengthening, the absorption capacity of most of his muscles and bones for internal energy has reached a very high level. Except for his internal organs, which are still somewhat lacking, most of his vital energy is drawn from the outside world. As long as he does not do any strengthening after completing his cultivation and simply replenishes his internal energy, Zhang Lei's overall combat ability will not decrease. Moreover, the extra internal energy can also play an auxiliary role in combat.
Zhang Lei now needs to practice his internal energy for shorter and shorter periods each day, and the pleasure he gets from it has also decreased significantly. Perhaps everything has this adaptation process; once he gets used to it, he no longer feels any comfort.
Moreover, Zhang Lei had stopped practicing when he was particularly tired recently, and that feeling of being gnawed at by ants had not reappeared. However, whether Zhang Lei stopped practicing or not was no longer important. The ability of the vortex in his lower abdomen to absorb energy was getting stronger and stronger. The proportion of vital energy absorbed during practice was already getting smaller and smaller. Even if he stopped, the vortex would still draw vital energy from his body.
This corner is quite close to the cave entrance. Although not much light can shine in from outside, you can still see the light and shadow at the cave entrance from here.
As the white light at the cave entrance gradually dimmed, Zhang Lei knew that the arrival time was approaching. Many parents, especially his own, would definitely inquire around if they saw that he hadn't returned home so late. They would soon find out the homes of the children who hadn't gone, and then they would hope that the children wouldn't be foolish enough to come on their own.
Zhang Lei's worries were not in vain. When they arrived, news of criminals escaping nearby had not yet spread. However, in the afternoon, two motorcycles that had broken down on the way arrived. Actually, the two motorcycles were not broken. It was just that the slope was too steep and the braking and starting were too frequent, causing the engine to overheat. In addition, the quality was not very good, so the motorcycles stalled. Once the engine cooled down, it could be restarted.
After inquiring and finding out that the prison van ahead hadn't arrived, they turned back and, with a purposeful look, easily spotted the prison van that had fallen down the mountain.
The power plant management had already broadcast the message via CCTV, so the parents were even more anxious when they realized their children hadn't returned and knew to immediately notify the security department.
The factory's security department functioned as both a police station and a militia organization. It had quite a few guns, and many people in the factory knew how to shoot. The power plant was well-off, and being a reserve power plant, it had no shortage of ammunition. People who liked guns often came to use their connections to get a few shots. Zhang Lei had actually fired fifty rounds of ammunition during his military training.
So it was easy to pull a large group of people out of the factory, each carrying a semi-automatic rifle, and some even had a pistol tucked into their belts. The vast majority of the students who had just graduated from junior high school were missing; this was no small matter. If they really encountered a fugitive and injured any of them, the entire factory's safety award for the year would be ruined.
Even though the parents reacted faster than expected, it was already dark when they arrived, with only a faint afterglow illuminating the hill behind the elementary school.
Logically, some should have been left to guard the other entrance, but what cases had this small place handled? The two outside policemen who brought trouble wanted to speak, but no one wanted to pay them any attention.
Everyone headed towards the entrance with the bunker. The other entrance had a lot of loose sand and gravel. It was fine going downhill, but going uphill meant taking a long detour.