paranoianovel Chapter 20 Re-entering the Pharmacy
Chapter 20 Re-entering the Pharmacy
The side effects of the last medication, especially the "torture of tearing off the plaster," left Xu Mo with lingering fear. The excruciating pain, the subsequent redness and sensitivity of the skin, and the persistent soreness in the deep muscles, only truly subsided by the time the next 48-hour cooling-off period was about to end.
In the past two days, Xu Mo strictly followed the adjusted plan, focusing on stance training and supplementing with internal medication, while almost suspending external martial arts practice. This allowed his body to slowly recover from the double blow of excessive training and excessive medication.
Because he had reduced strenuous activity and had a relatively sufficient food reserve from the restaurant, Xu Mo's goal for "opening the door" this time was very clear: to replenish the external medicines that had been consumed so much, especially safflower oil, and to try to find books on traditional Chinese medicine.
The countdown reached zero, and Xu Mo stood once again in front of the glass door marked with a cross. Having learned from his previous experience, he was much calmer, but his anticipation remained undiminished.
"Open the door!"
A soft light flickered, and the familiar aroma of medicine wafted through the air once more. Once the scene stabilized, it was indeed a pharmacy again, its established rules reassuring. The layout was similar to the previous one, also a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, with white shelves of Western medicine standing opposite dark brown cabinets of traditional Chinese medicine.
"It looks like a chain pharmacy."
Xu Mo didn't rush to the medicines immediately; instead, his gaze swept eagerly across the entire pharmacy. His first priority was to find books on traditional Chinese medicine!
His gaze quickly swept over the checkout counter, the tops of the shelves, and the corners, hoping to spot the area where books were displayed. However, Xu Mo was disappointed.
"It seems a bit difficult to find systematic TCM knowledge directly here." Xu Mo felt slightly disappointed, but didn't dwell on it too much. After all, the main function of a pharmacy is to sell medicine, so it's normal not to have books. He silently noted this need, preparing it as a primary target when looking for bookstores or libraries in the future.
Time is precious and cannot be wasted, so Xu Mo immediately turned to his main target – the external medicine area.
He rushed to the shelf where the safflower oil was displayed. The few bottles he had taken last time had been used up quite a bit from continuous rubbing; this stuff really did require a lot of usage, and Xu Mo felt it was better to stock up on more.
Without any hesitation, Xu Mo swept all the brands of safflower oil on the shelf, along with similar anti-swelling and analgesic tinctures and liniments, into his large backpack. The bottles and jars instantly took up most of the backpack's space.
Next was the plaster section. Having learned from the painful lesson last time, Xu Mo was much more restrained this time. Instead of going on a shopping spree, he selectively picked up several different brands of plasters that the instructions said were breathable, and mainly chose small to medium-sized packages, planning to use them only in small amounts on the most critical and painful areas in the future.
Then, Xu Mo turned to the oral medication section and replenished some of his nearly empty muscle-relaxing and blood-activating tablets and trauma pills. Seeing vitamin B complex and calcium supplements on the shelf, he thought for a moment and grabbed a few bottles of each. He vaguely remembered hearing that vitamin B was good for nerve and muscle metabolism, and that calcium was important for strong bones; it was better to be prepared.
After doing all this, the backpack had become heavy and bulging, and about forty seconds had passed.
Xu Mo's gaze drifted back reluctantly to the Chinese medicine cabinet. Although he didn't know much about medicinal herbs, he had genuinely experienced the benefits of ginseng last time. He had been eating a ginseng root for the past two days and felt quite good.
"Sanqi," "Danshen," "Danggui," "Duzhong," "Niuxi"... some familiar names came into view. He remembered that "Sanqi" was a holy medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and "Duzhong" was said to be able to nourish the liver and kidneys and strengthen muscles and bones? These were all things that would be beneficial to his cultivation.
Unfortunately, he didn't recognize it and didn't know how to use it.
Time is running out.
Xu Mo made a quick decision, no longer dwelling on the specific medicinal herbs. His gaze locked onto the area under the Chinese medicine cabinet, where there seemed to be several beautifully packaged boxes. He did the same thing, smashing the glass with his fist, reaching inside, and what he touched wasn't ginseng, but several boxes of what looked like high-end cordyceps and deer antler slices!
Although their specific effects are not as readily apparent as ginseng, these two items are just as famous, so they must be good things too.
Xu Mo shoved the boxes into his arms, and then felt another flash before his eyes; the sixty seconds were over.
Standing on the street, Xu Mo looked at his haul and nodded in satisfaction. Although he hadn't found the traditional Chinese medicine book he most wanted, his core objectives—to replenish his supply of external medicines and to try and acquire new tonics—had been successfully achieved.
After transporting the supplies back to the shelter, Xu Mo felt a sense of relief seeing the replenished medicine reserves. The supply line for "elixirs" on his cultivation path had been initially stabilized. The next step was figuring out how to use them more intelligently and efficiently, and to find ways to acquire knowledge as soon as possible.
Xu Mo began his training methodically. When practicing standing meditation, he could clearly feel that his lower body was more stable than before, and his breath flowed more smoothly and long in his body. His subtle control over his muscles had improved significantly.
When engaging in restorative, controlled-intensity external martial arts training, Xu Mo noticed significant improvements in his strength, endurance, and resilience. Previously, a full-force punch to a wall would cause excruciating pain in his hand bones, but now he only felt a solid rebound, indicating a marked increase in the resilience of his skin, flesh, and bones.
"I've definitely gotten a lot stronger." After finishing his practice, Xu Mo felt the surging energy within his body and his more resilient physique, and made a positive assessment.
However, he didn't have a clear timetable in mind as to when he would be able to step into the first realm of the "Thirteen Protectors' Horizontal Training"—the "Bullish Realm".
There was no progress bar for the cultivation technique, and his second uncle had never specified how long it would take to master. Xu Mo could only vaguely sense that his body was steadily progressing towards the goal of having "skin so smooth and supple that it could withstand ordinary scratches, bites, and sticks." He believed that as long as he persisted, with sufficient resources and medicine, reaching the "Skin-Soothing Realm" was only a matter of time.
The improvement in strength brought with it greater ambition and more specific plans. Xu Mo was no longer satisfied with merely improving his basic physical qualities.
"We must also put the skills of using cold weapons on the agenda," Xu Mo thought to himself as he weighed the gleaming bone-chopping knife in his hand.
The knife is of good quality and weight, making it a fine weapon, but in his hands, he currently relies mainly on brute force to chop, without any skill involved.
Brute force might be enough to deal with slow-moving ordinary zombies, but against more agile and dangerous enemies or mutants, relying solely on brute force would be suicidal. He needs to systematically practice basic moves such as chopping, slashing, thrusting, and stabbing, learn footwork coordination, and improve his combat skills with melee weapons.
You can figure that out yourself, after all, those battle videos you watched before weren't for nothing.
But an even bolder and more tempting idea began to linger in Xu Mo's mind—firearms.
Even the best cleaver is still a melee weapon, requiring close-quarters combat, which is extremely risky. If one had a gun… even just a pistol, their survivability and deterrent power would leap forward! Dealing with threats remotely is undoubtedly a safer and more efficient option.
Once the idea took hold, it was hard to suppress. Xu Mo thought of his ability to "customize" scenes.
"If I put signs like 'Armory' or 'Armor Room' on a sturdy security door, does that mean there's actually a place behind it where guns and ammunition are stored?"
This idea made Xu Mo's heart race; it was undoubtedly a bolder test of the rules. Pharmacies and restaurants were still within the realm of ordinary people's access, while armories and firearms involved violent institutions.
Xu Mo decided to put this plan on the agenda, but he needed to find a suitable security door that looked sturdy enough and more like the entrance to an important place, rather than the security door of an ordinary house.
Of course, you can also try it on a regular security door.
In the days that followed, Xu Mo's life became more fulfilling and purposeful. Mornings were mainly spent practicing stance training and taking internal medicine for conditioning; afternoons were divided into two parts: one part involved practicing basic moves of cold weapons, and the other part involved moderate external martial arts training; evenings were spent studying medicine instructions and planning the next "opening of the gate" goal.