Near the plants, Zeng Mo casually picked up a cold roasted sweet potato, ate it, and hurried off to the martial arts school.
By the time he arrived, it was already noon.
The school was very quiet. It was a large building, but only Li Yu Lin was there, sitting at a tea table and sipping tea.
"Young master, you're here." The school's owner, Li Yu Lin, spotted Zeng Mo and hurried over to greet him, rising from her seat. It seemed she'd been waiting for him for a while.
Zeng Mo glanced around the spacious, quiet martial arts school and asked curiously, "Master Li, where are your disciples?"
"They're all resting. They should be back in about half an hour," Li Yu Lin replied.
Zeng Mo nodded, then hesitated before saying, "Master Li, about what happened last time, I was a little out of line. Please don't take it to heart."
Li Yu Lin gave a helpless smile. "It's all right. I was a little overbearing then, and I wanted to force my disciples to accept you. As a result, I got carried away and ended up troubling you. Afterward, I scolded them. I didn't know that they'd gotten into a fight with those ruffians and even injured someone. I was furious when I found out."
Hearing Li Yu Lin's explanation, Zeng Mo realized she hadn't been dwelling on what happened the other day. He got straight to the point.
"Master, you said the other day that you'd teach me some martial arts moves. What did you have in mind?"
"You've all accepted formal training before, haven't you? For instance, did you take martial arts classes at school or learn any self-defense moves?" Li Yu Lin asked.
"None. Since I was young, I've only been a bit faster than ordinary people. I never learned any self-defense moves."
"Just a little faster?"
Zeng Mo silently cursed himself. Then he thought for a moment and said, "All right. I'll start by teaching you some basic moves that are relatively easy to learn, such as grappling techniques and a few simple strikes. Once you've mastered the basics, I'll teach you some moves from other schools. Of course, if you're interested in weapons later, you can come here and learn those too."
"Then I'll be counting on you, Master Li." Zeng Mo cupped his hands in salute.
Li Yu Lin smiled and clasped her hands behind her back. "Don't mention it. I have my own motives, too. With your incredible speed, if you spar with my disciples—including me—you'll help us improve."
Soon,
with Li Yu Lin instructing him,
Zeng Mo began learning some basic grappling techniques and moves...
About half an hour later, the martial arts school's disciples returned, and Zeng Mo became friends with a few of them.
The whole school was bustling with activity.
Zeng Mo began practicing the basics, and his agility improved steadily as he sparred with the two disciples who faced him.
But at that moment,
his speed was already five times greater than theirs.
The two disciples were both strong, well-built men. They did their best to dodge and even looked for chances to counterattack.
But they couldn't land a single hit, and they couldn't even touch him.
Even so,
under Li Yu Lin's instruction, he had already grasped the basics of grappling and learned two or three moves.
Now, he was practicing with the two men, who were both about his age. They were grinding away, trying to figure out how to use the grappling techniques to get close, take him down, and improve their fighting strength.
By the time the end of the world arrived,
he would have more strength to protect himself.
As dusk fell, Zeng Mo earned 1,500 Survival Points at the martial arts school. Then he hurried over to the gathering place, where he waited for Li Yu Lin and the others to bring back dinner.
But he didn't have to wait long. In less than half a day, Li Yu Lin and the others returned.
Zeng Mo stared blankly. For a moment, he was a little distracted.
At that moment,
Li Yu Lin was wearing a black dress with a low neckline. A thin layer of silk clung to her body, her long black hair reaching her waist, with a golden hairpin in it. A jade necklace hung around her neck.
Her eyes were as clear as water, gentle yet bright, as though they could see right into a person's heart. Her red lips parted slightly, revealing a charming smile that could captivate anyone around her.
Zeng Mo was a little stunned.
The way Li Yu Lin looked then made her seem like a classic beauty from ancient times. Even dressed in simple clothes, she was elegant and natural, exuding a lasting charm that drew his gaze.
"Husband." Li Muqing walked over with a bowl of rice. In a tone that sounded like something from an ancient play, she said, "My lord, I'm worn out from going out with you today. My legs are sore, so I'm not going to eat."
Zeng Mo swallowed and hurriedly replied, "Then, madam, I'll eat for both of us."
"Heh-heh."
More than an hour later,
Zeng Mo once again locked the door and stopped beneath the gazebo.
"Husband, I'm going upstairs to rest." Li Muqing said.
Zeng Mo smiled mischievously. "Wife, I'm not going back to work tonight. I'll rest too."
"Not going back to work? Then where are you going? Where are you taking me?" Li Muqing asked.
"Nowhere. We'll stay right here. I want to test how soundproof the room is."
"Ah, here? Don't. Someone might hear us!" Li Muqing's face flushed, and her beautiful eyes seemed to darken with shy anticipation.
Zeng Mo laughed. "They won't hear a thing. I'll raise the soundproof barrier, so no one will be able to see inside. Besides, this room is very soundproof."
Zeng Mo put on his soundproof barrier, then raised the defensive barrier. He leaned back against the seat, took a breath, and sat up straight, ready to leave.
He strode through the main entrance.
He'd just taken a break from work, and during that break he'd taken Li Muqing to bed. Now he headed toward the room where she was sitting, smiling as he said,
"Madam, I think I'd better stop here..."
[Congratulations, host. Your believer has gained 830 faith points.]
The next morning,
Zeng Mo listened to the notification in his ear and looked at Li Yu Lin, who was clinging to him, unable to let go. She was like a stunning beauty in his arms.
Immediately,
while they were still in the room, he used a way that delighted her both physically and emotionally to farm hundreds of Survival Points, then got up, dressed, and walked Li Muqing to her office.
After that, Zeng Mo began planning out the day's Survival Points.
First, he would visit the gathering place and earn 10 Survival Points.
Then he'd go to the pedestrian street, head into the nearby alleys, and then make his way back out to the main road and the commercial street.
Finally, Zeng Mo stopped outside the large gate of the public park, intending to find some nearby people and show them his power, then convert them into believers. He would spread the word to more survivors, share his faith with a few more people, and spend the next two hours visiting the entire city, hoping to make his presence known to every settlement he could reach.
It went pretty well.
Aside from the hundred or so Survival Points he earned at the early-morning visit to the busy main street, the pedestrian street, and the plant garden, he also earned 10 points.
Zeng Mo then visited four more settlements. They were the animal enclosure on the east side of the city, the Golden Sea Market in the west, the quarry in the north, and the singing and dancing venue in the south.
After working nonstop for four hours, it was already noon. He grabbed a quick meal at the porridge shop on Millet Street, then ran to the martial arts school to find Li Yu Lin and practice in a corner of the gym, where there was plenty of space.
He didn't come out until three hours later.
Learning at the martial arts school was a secondary matter to Zeng Mo. What he really wanted was to meet her, and more importantly, to take the opportunity to make progress in his martial arts training.
On his way to find Li Yu Lin,
Zeng Mo did the math. He had earned 7,000 Survival Points in total that day, then opened the explosive-face icon panel to take a look.
[Survival Points: 21,700]
"Eight pulls cost 10,000 Survival Points. I can do two ten-pulls now."
"I don't know if I'll get another chance after this. I might get something good, so I should go for it. I probably won't get anything good, but it looks like I'm guaranteed something rare at fifty pulls."
Zeng Mo muttered, then brought up the system interface. Looking forward to it, he said,
"System, ten pulls."
In an instant, white light flashed. The panel in front of him trembled, and ten beams of white light burst out.
[Congratulations, host. You drew 5 white cards: Props Card, Wisdom-Hunting Robot.]
[Congratulations, host. You drew 3 white cards: Building Card, Divine Energy Condenser.]
[Congratulations, host. You drew 2 white cards: Building Card, Spatial Expansion.]
Zeng Mo looked at the ten white cards in front of him.
[Wisdom-Hunting Robot: Once the corresponding command is entered, it can automatically collect materials.]
[Divine Energy Condenser: A building that can take divine energy gifts, dissolve them, and refine them into membranes without wasting any of the divine energy in the process.]
[Spatial Expansion: A building with an area of one thousand square meters. As long as it is fused with another spatial expansion building of the same type, it can continuously increase the size of the interior space.]
"With these few white cards, my divine realm's gift production can finally be automated, can't it?"
Zeng Mo nodded, then looked toward the eight white cards displayed in his backpack.
Among the eight white cards, the Divine Energy Condenser appeared once, and it was a rare item. The Divine Barrier had appeared three times.
Zeng Mo figured that if he did another ten-pull, his Divine Energy Condenser would be complete. In the future, he'd even be able to build a small divine barrier. Just as he was thinking about this, two notifications rang in his ear.
[Congratulations, host. You drew 1 green card: Disease Card, Cure Mania.]
[Congratulations, host. You drew 1 purple card: Talent Card, Divine Control.]
"A Talent Card!"
Zeng Mo lowered his voice and looked toward the two purple cards.
Before you continue