"What use is this iron rod to me, what does it matter if it changes…"

Four hours of sleep, and Shen Cong had recovered to peak mental condition. Accompanied by a freshly changed ringtone, he crawled out of bed, stretched his arms and legs, and went to the toilet to relieve himself.

The Lv1 Pure Gold Era's skin-gold stage — the body's sense of touch was extraordinarily peculiar, icy cold, as if his whole self were soaking in cold water, exceptionally sensitive.

The pores of his skin seemed to open and close, automatically absorbing the free Activity drifting in the air.

The sensation was remarkable — for you had to understand, only carrier vehicles could absorb free Activity. Iron-person pilots, like jin people and jin beasts, couldn't directly absorb free Activity; they had to supplement their intake through daily food and drink.

But now this had changed.

Shen Cong stilled his mind and felt it: his skin really was, through the pores, absorbing the free Activity around him.

Which meant that even if he neither ate nor drank, nor exchanged with the Great Vajra, he could still take in Activity.

"So skin-gold has this effect too — a situation I've never observed before. There are still too few Lv2 Pitch-Black Era evolved beasts; of the handful I've seen, apart from the Snail Traveler, basically all of them are dead. I'll go check on the Snail Traveler's condition shortly."

Being able to absorb Activity on his own meant reduced food intake. Much of the time, when Shen Cong ate Activity-rich meat and produce, it wasn't because his nutrition couldn't keep up — it was because his Activity consumption couldn't keep up.

That was why he ate several meals a day, a dozen-plus catties per meal.

Of course, for now the speed of skin-gold's Activity absorption couldn't compare with the Activity taken in from eating meat — far, far too little.

"Perhaps once I fully complete skin-gold, I'll be able to cut most of my food intake." Shen Cong thought, pleased. Lower consumption meant stronger endurance and sustained range — not only…