Apart from becoming bald, along with noticeably improved skin and whiter teeth, Ken observed a significant reduction in his body fat ratio. His abdomen had flattened, most directly evidenced by his belt needing to be tightened by one notch. However, his body weight had not decreased substantially. During the company's physical examination earlier this year, he weighed 86 kg; now, he was 84 kg—a negligible fluctuation, especially considering he had barely consumed any proper food for nearly five days since the 11th.
Subjectively, Ken felt a marked increase in the strength of his legs and feet, perceptible during walking, climbing stairs, and carrying items. Prompted by this thought, he dropped to the floor and began performing push-ups. Since graduating university, his singular focus on work had led to a sedentary lifestyle, resulting in weight gain and a considerable decline in physical strength. During the Lunar New Year, he could manage only fourteen standard push-ups consecutively. Now, he executed thirty with ease, felt fatigue in his shoulders and triceps only after fifty, and reached failure at fifty-eight. While fifty-eight might seem modest to a regular exerciser, for a man weighing nearly 85 kilograms who had been largely inactive for years, this leap from fourteen to fifty-eight was nothing short of remarkable .
Returning to his computer, Ken meticulously recorded this data in his document, along with the photographs and other bodily measurements, all systematically filed by date. He proceeded with several more sets of push-ups, crunches, and squats—exercises feasible within his confined space. Not only had his single-set maximum repetitions increased dramatically, but his overall muscular endurance had also improved by several orders of magnitude. Previously, after one set of fourteen push-ups, a one-minute rest allowed only thirteen more, followed by just eleven or twelve after several minutes. Now, after completing fifty-eight, a mere minute's rest sufficed to perform another set of fifty-eight. He could repeat this cycle consistently until the eighth set, where his performance dropped to fifty-two, accompanied by genuine muscle fatigue and soreness.
Thus far, the changes wrought by Factor X were overwhelmingly positive, beneficial, and enhancing. Yet, the persistent enigma of sustenance continued to preoccupy him. From July 11th until now, despite periods of prolonged sleep, his waking hours involved considerable activity, culminating in the intense calisthenics session. Despite this, he felt no hunger, and after rest, his fatigue dissipated rapidly, with muscular strength largely restored. He was certain his body was not suffering from malnutrition or energy deficiency; this state was not merely psychological. Could such minimal chicken blood truly fuel days of expenditure? Had his stomach mutated so profoundly that it could extract sufficient energy from that meager amount?
At 6 PM, Ken ventured out to the very food stall where he had sought solace on the evening of July 11th. He noticed he felt more alert and energetic after sunset, as if the moonlight provided a subtle, invigorating drive. Ordering the same dishes and beer, he sat, pretending to use his phone while discreetly observing his surroundings, replaying the events of that night, searching for any anomaly in the food, drink, or atmosphere. Around 8 PM, he approached the owner. Using the pretext of a lost mobile phone from that night, he inquired about reviewing the surveillance footage from above the counter. Since he had just been a customer, the owner complied, having an employee show him the recordings, which were retained for only a week.
The footage revealed nothing unusual: Ken drank alone, interacted only with serving staff, settled his bill around 8:30 PM, called for a ride, and departed two minutes later. There were no anomalies.
Leaving the stall, Ken chose to run home instead of taking a vehicle. Although the direct route was short, he deliberately took a longer path, adding extra kilometers. Under the moonlight, he felt an unexpected lightness, a sensation of boundless energy, prompting him to sprint at near-maximum speed, drawing startled glances from passersby. This burst, however, was unsustainable; within two minutes, he was forced to stop, breathless. Back home, after a shower and drinking water, he documented his "investigation findings" in a new file titled "X Cause Investigation 1: The Food Stall," saving the copied video footage alongside it.
Unable to sleep, Ken spent the night creating a crawler script to automatically scrape information from search engines and social platforms for descriptions matching his "symptoms," filtering out obvious fiction and artistic references. Between scripting sessions, every half hour, he engaged in thirty minutes of bodyweight exercises: varied push-ups, weighted squats, crunches, glute bridges, planks, basic yoga poses, even attempting—and failing—a planche push-up, confirming his physical enhancements had limits. He aimed to test the extent of his energy reserves, to see when true hunger would finally emerge. He found it difficult to believe the minuscule amount of chicken blood could sustain such prolonged and intense expenditure.
The peculiarity was that no matter how exhausted he felt immediately after a set, within twenty minutes of rest, muscular fatigue would largely vanish. He felt neither hunger nor a decrease in strength, as if simply pausing allowed him to "recharge wirelessly." This cycle continued until dawn, when a faint weariness finally set in. Yet, Ken intuited this fatigue was not solely due to his relentless exercise regimen, but somehow intrinsically linked to the breaking of day and the arrival of morning light.