"Hehe, my superpower is running really fast! I feel like I'm several times faster than the hundred-meter sprint champion at our school! And I can tell that's not even my top speed. If I ran flat out, I bet I'd be like The Flash in the movies!"
"From now on, just sit back and relax, big bro! I've got this!"
Shen Su lifted her little chin proudly, like a child waiting to be praised.
Clearly, she was proud of her ability.
Of course, the part about being like The Flash was an exaggeration. Otherwise, her ability would have been absurdly powerful.
"An ability that boosts your speed? Not bad." Shen Yi patted his little sister's head in approval.
So it was another new ability.
Did Ability Fruits look slightly different depending on the ability they granted?
Perhaps some glowed or gave off an enticing fragrance?
"Mm! But I don't know what's wrong with my superpower. Every time I run for a little while, I get really tired and thirsty. That's why I don't dare use it casually, let alone run at full speed. I'm afraid I'd exhaust myself to death..." Shen Su pouted, looking a little troubled.
It was like owning a mountain of gold but being unable to spend any of it.
She had a superpower, yet she couldn't use it as she pleased.
Shen Yi understood. His little sister's stamina was too poor for her to use her newly acquired speed ability at full strength.
In that case, she either needed the luck to find and eat a Body Evolution Fruit to raise her physical limits,
or she needed to raise her ability's level. Perhaps a higher-level ability would consume less stamina.
"Don't tell anyone else about your superpower," Shen Yi warned her.
"Of course! I'm not stupid. Most of the time, I'm smart as hell!" Shen Su grinned.
"If you weren't my big brother, I wouldn't even have told you! It's a superpower, after all. Just like in the movies, if bad people found out, they'd definitely capture me and cut me up for research!"
"All right, all right. You're the smartest."
Shen Yi ruffled her hair. "When I get the chance, I'll see if I can do something about how tired your ability makes you."
"Can you fix that?"
Shen Su had been enjoying the head pats, but at those words, her eyes lit up as she stared at Shen Yi.
Shen Yi nodded. "I can, but it'll take some luck."
He would have to find a Body Evolution Fruit. That was like searching for a needle in a haystack, so luck was certainly necessary.
Alternatively, he could find more Ability Fruits of the same speed type Shen Su had eaten and raise her ability's level.
But by Shen Yi's estimate, she would need to eat at least seven or eight fruits to gain a single level.
That was even harder!
Finding seven or eight fruits of the same type was out of the question. Even finding that many fruits of different types would be hard as hell.
"Yay! I know you can do it, big bro!" Shen Su happily clung to Shen Yi's arm.
This girl.
Shen Yi shook his head.
By then, Grandma had finished packing and come out.
She hadn't brought much luggage, just a small bag. He had no idea what was inside.
Shen Yi didn't ask. He led Grandma and his little sister toward the car.
But
as soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, he saw several older villagers gathered around his car. They looked part furtive, part curious.
When they saw Shen Yi and the others, they hurriedly greeted them with smiles. "Granny Shen, is this your relative's car? It's beautiful!"
"Is your relative from the city?"
Grandma replied kindly. They were neighbors, after all, and used to see one another all the time.
But she made a point of stressing that the car belonged to her grandson and that he had bought it himself.
She even pulled Shen Yi over to introduce him.
To an elder, a capable grandchild was someone to praise and show off.
Shen Yi had changed so much that the neighbors didn't recognize him at first. Only after Grandma introduced him did they realize who he was, and they immediately greeted him.
Shen Yi was in a good mood after picking up Grandma and his little sister, so he responded with some warmth.
Then the neighbors went on. "Say, Shen, are you heading back to the city?"
"If you are, could you take my grandson along? I hear it's safer in the city now."
"And my grandson too. Both his parents are in the city. Could I trouble you to take him to them?"
The neighbors talked over one another, all asking him for favors.
Shen Su's brows knitted together. She wasn't happy.
These neighbors had always liked taking small advantages. Now they were trying to do it again.
At a time like this, they wanted her brother to risk himself to take their children to the city!
Some even went so far as to ask Shen Yi to take their whole families.
What kind of people are they...?
We're not even that close!
Even relatives shouldn't ask for this much, let alone neighbors!
Grandma's expression had darkened too.
"We don't have room in the car," Shen Yi said coolly. "I can't take anyone else."
With that, he pushed through the crowd, opened the rear door, and let Grandma and his little sister get in first.
But one sharp-eyed villager noticed there was still plenty of room in the back. Carrying his son, who was around ten, he squeezed forward. "Shen, there's still space back there. Take your old uncle and your nephew along. We can squeeze in."
"We're all from the same village. When trouble comes, we ought to help each other. Your dad and I were close when he was alive. I even held you when you were little. Don't forget where you came from."
"Get lost. You're in the way."
Shen Yi gave the man a cold glance, shoved him aside, got into the car, and started the engine.
The villager froze at the insult, then pointed at Shen Yi and launched into a tirade.
Once they knew they weren't getting anything from him, they dropped the act.
A few villagers took the hint and went home early.
But more stayed to curse Shen Yi's family for having no conscience. They claimed they had treated his family so well in the past, yet now that he had a car and could flee to the city, he refused to help his neighbors...
The apocalypse laid humanity's ugliness bare.
Shen Yi's gaze turned cold. He was about to draw his gun.
Suddenly,
he sensed a surge of intense hostility.
Activating Telepathy, Shen Yi instantly saw an extremely dense black aura in the grass two hundred meters away.
It belonged to a mutated snake over ten meters long!
And it was closing in fast.
Shen Yi shifted straight into reverse, hit the gas, and backed away at speed.
If anyone dared block the car, he would run them over!
As Shen Yi sped away,
several villagers were still standing there berating him.
They hadn't noticed the huge snake slithering out of the grass.
By the time anyone spotted it, the mutated snake had already launched a deadly attack on the crowd.
The man holding his son, who had cursed the loudest, was the first to catch its eye.
The mutated snake opened its jaws wider than a person and swallowed both of them alive. It chewed hard, then gulped them down.
"Aah! A giant snake! There's a giant snake!"
The villagers screamed in terror and ran for their homes.
But the mutated snake was faster. It spat out clouds of green poisonous mist that engulfed every villager in an instant, drawing wave after wave of screams...
Shen Yi could no longer see the horror unfolding there.
But he could guess.
The mutated snake's sheer size had stunned him. Ordinary people stood no chance against it!
Even he wasn't sure he could beat it.
Sure enough, the mutated animals in mountain villages were even more damn dangerous than those in the city!
Then again,
the atmosphere inside the car was the most dangerous thing right now...
Because ever since his little sister had gotten in and seen the beautiful woman in the front passenger seat, the smile had vanished from her cute face.
Before you continue