A Mouthful of Old Gentleman

Li Moxiao pouted for the entire afternoon.

Shen Jin completed his gene optimization in her room.

"Good, this process didn't have any accidents. This power..."

Shen Jin felt like he had been pulled out of water, completely drenched.

But his body was filled with a sense of power. He felt like he had evolved!

Shen Jin, who was slightly nearsighted before, now had clear vision.

His sense of smell had also changed. He could distinguish several different scents in the room:

his own sweat, the smell of leftover food, and a faint, fresh scent of a young girl.

It felt like... the world had suddenly become clearer!

It was as if he had just gone swimming and then taken a shower; he felt incredibly comfortable all over.

Shen Jin had never felt this good before!

Meanwhile, Li Moxiao, with a dark expression, was still sulking. "Hmph! Hurry up and leave after taking the medicine. You wasted my feelings!"

Her two long, fair legs swung vigorously by the bedside, showing her displeasure.

Shen Jin was a bit confused. "What's wrong? I just drank a bottle of medicine in your room. I didn't do anything to you. How about I give you the rest of the snacks?"

"It's precisely because you didn't... Hmph, you're worse than a beast!"

Shen Jin thought about how Li Moxiao had acted coy earlier and her reaction now. He suddenly understood.

Looking at Li Moxiao's fair skin and beautiful long legs, which had recovered thanks to the nutrition and baths she'd been taking these past few days, a thought sparked in his mind.

He slapped Li Moxiao on the head.

"Crack!"

"I told you to read fewer romance novels! What are you always thinking about? Also, stop making that face. Smile more; happiness leads to bigger breasts!"

Li Moxiao winced in pain and shrunk her head, looking wronged.

After Shen Jin left, she looked unconvinced. "Hmph! Serves you right for being a shut-in forever. You're completely clueless about romance!"

The next day, Shen Jin and Yang Ao faced each other in the back garden, each holding a wooden sword.

"We drank the last two bottles of serum."

"Yeah, they were the last two my dad left. Maybe they were meant for today."

Yang Ao recalled his father's original intention for researching gene serums: he was afraid Yang Ao would get himself killed by causing trouble everywhere.

He never expected that after the apocalypse, it would actually be used to give him a life-saving power.

"Let's spar. We'll stop when it's just a touch."

"Just a touch!"

Although the two, whose genes had been optimized, didn't look much different externally, the power contained within them was worlds apart from before.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The two charged at each other. Their speed over a hundred meters had surpassed the human limit of 10.5m/s, reaching 16m/s.

"Clang!"

Even without any weapon skills, the two, relying on their incredibly fast reaction speeds, accurately struck each other's swords.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

They separated as soon as they made contact, their wooden swords clashing. Neither gained an advantage.

When human reaction speed reaches a certain level, it becomes easy to defend against ordinary attacks.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang! Crack~"

Their footwork shifted, and the wooden swords in their hands collided back and forth. Finally, unable to withstand the explosive power of the two, they both snapped.

"Hahaha~"

The two looked at the broken halves of their wooden swords and burst into laughter.

"If we were to give that spar a name, what do you think it should be called?"

Shen Jin recalled their exhilarating clash and felt something was slightly off.

"No rhyme or reason!" Yang Ao blurted out the truth.

"This reminds me of that old saying, 'blindly swinging wildly'!"

"Exactly!"

To the untrained eye, the spar between the two was a display of swift movements and orderly offense and defense!

But in reality, it was riddled with openings. They had the physical conditioning, but no idea how to utilize it!

"I feel like even if the two of us combined, we wouldn't stand a single chance against someone who's unlocked their gene lock."

Shen Jin recalled Lu Qiang from that day. Although Lu Qiang's physical condition was similar to theirs after unlocking his gene lock, his combat awareness and techniques were far beyond their crude swordsmanship.

It was a fighting style that targeted vital points with every punch and aimed for the kill with every move.

Not flashy, but it perfectly utilized every ounce of their physical strength to deliver the most potent effect.

If they had to describe the obvious gap in strength, Lu Qiang was probably like Captain America, while they were like Bucky Barnes without his cybernetic arm.

Seemingly similar, but in reality, completely outmatched.

Yang Ao had heard the concept of the gene lock on the official broadcast these past few days. "Really? No wonder they call people who've unlocked their gene lock 'Transcendent'."

"So... if we drink this serum, does that make us half-Transcendent?"

"Pretty much."

The two didn't dwell on it. They knew they just had to avoid the gene lock big shots when they saw them. If they couldn't win, they could at least run.

"Yang Ao, next, I need you to cooperate with me on a mission."

"A mission?"

Shen Jin sectioned off a 300-square-meter area in the backyard, separated by stone walls, with only two iron gates connecting it to the main area.

Then, in this small space, he quickly built six matchbox-like structures using stones and wooden boards.

He threw two beds into each matchbox, creating simple shelters!

He dug a hole, connecting it to his underground main passage.

Next, he planned to bring in 26 people and keep them here for seven days. After the mission was complete, he would let them go.

The system hadn't asked him to keep them indefinitely anyway, and besides, high personnel turnover was normal in the apocalypse!

What could the system say?

Oh right, the system couldn't talk at all.

As for the people... Shen Jin had already figured out where to get them.

Who wouldn't be a tool when they had to be?

He'd let his old colleagues contribute their remaining warmth!

In the afternoon, Shen Jin and Yang Ao rode electric bikes through the underground tunnels.

"Brother Jin, why are you having me do this mission? Wouldn't it be better if you handled it yourself? Wouldn't your colleagues be grateful and offer themselves to you?"

"Ahem... Yang Ao, I think you've helped me a lot these days, so I'm returning this favor to you! Several of my former colleagues are quite beautiful, make sure to seize the opportunity!"

"Brother Jin, are they really that big?" Yang Ao gestured with his hands.

"Yes!" Shen Jin remembered those saleswomen who had already given birth; they were all quite ample.

"Hiss! Yang Ao is eternally grateful for this great kindness!"

Yang Ao, now well-fed and clothed thanks to Shen Jin, naturally...

Back when he was traveling across the country in his EleMMent Palazzo Superior RV, many female travelers, college students, urban white-collar workers, and even beautiful young housewives had willingly wanted to get into his RV for a night of passion.

This was also an important part of his travel enjoyment.

But now, three months into the apocalypse!

His RV was parked in the suburbs, he was imprisoned, couldn't get enough to eat or wear, and hadn't had any romantic encounters for a long time.

He didn't dare to touch either Shang Qian or Li Moxiao.

He wouldn't even dare to think about it.

Even though Shen Jin had never officially announced his relationship with the two women, Yang Ao knew his place. He wouldn't have any thoughts about any woman who had even the slightest connection with Shen Jin.

"Ahem... Brother Jin, can I eat a little less and leave some food for them?"

Shen Jin's jaw dropped. "Holy crap! Yang Ao, you've really shown your true colors with that comment. You're a total pervert!"

Yang Ao gave a charming smile. If there were more recommendation votes and monthly votes, he'd do something special for everyone tomorrow.