Colorless Light Particles

(PS: I almost habitually updated this chapter to the Honghuang Calendar... By the way, Xiao Z is still asking for recommendations and rewards. Everyone, please support me~~~~)

This book is first published on Taiwan Novel Network. It's super thoughtful and convenient, offering you a reading experience with no incorrect chapters and no out-of-order chapters.

The pistol Lu Yuanming found was useless, which made him very dejected.

However, he didn't discard the pistol. Whether for psychological comfort or for some other reason, Lu Yuanming carefully put the pistol into his inner shirt pocket.

The exploration continued. After seeing two remains, Lu Yuanming slowed down his pace.

Gradually, Lu Yuanming felt an unbearable thirst and hunger.

When he had crossed back sixteen hours ago, which was when he instinctively felt the urge to drink water twice, he had already felt hungry and thirsty, but he could still endure it then. By the time he explored the bottom floor of this building, he had felt the urge to drink water four times, meaning he had been here for thirty-two hours.

Although Lu Yuanming found it strange that he would feel hungry and thirsty in the afterlife as a soul, it didn't stop him from feeling unbearable discomfort now.

As a normal human, not drinking water for more than twenty-four hours puts one in a state of semi-dehydration.

A person can survive for nearly thirty days without food, only drinking water, before dying.

But if a person doesn't drink water, they will die of thirst in four to seven days.

Lu Yuanming was now in a state of extreme hunger and thirst. However, after searching this building for a long time, he couldn't find any water source at all. There was no tap water, no other water, and even when he searched the toilet bowl, there wasn't a single drop of water.

Besides fresh water, there was also no food.

Unless Lu Yuanming resorted to gnawing on corpses, whether human or monster, it would be the death of him. Firstly, he absolutely wouldn't touch human remains. Even if he considered the monster's body, its lower half was at least dog-like, but it was already rotten. Was he supposed to eat carrion?

Lu Yuanming confirmed that he wouldn't find food and fresh water in this abandoned building, but he didn't dare to leave it now.

Of course, he knew he had to leave the building eventually; he couldn't be trapped here forever. But before leaving, he had to make adequate preparations.

Since the pistol was useless, he needed other weapons and armor.

During the thirty-plus hours of exploration, Lu Yuanming had also been selecting weapons and armor. There was really no choice. As for weapons, Lu Yuanming found several broken rebar rods. The longest was nearly a meter long, and as thick as three fingers put together. The broken ends were very sharp, suitable for use as a spear-like weapon. The only drawback was that it was a bit heavy. This was the most suitable weapon he could find in this building for attack.

As for armor, it was truly hopeless. Lu Yuanming pieced together some wooden planks by dismantling them from some abandoned, worn-out furniture and hung them on his front and back. They were just barely attached. Honestly, these wooden planks were only for psychological comfort. Forget monsters; even an ordinary human could pierce them with one punch.

These were all of Lu Yuanming's weapons and armor. In his own evaluation, such weapons and armor were only slightly better than a weak chicken, perhaps reaching the level of a weak duck, but definitely not the strength of a weak goose.

Because of this, Lu Yuanming really didn't dare to leave the building. The outside world was too terrifying. Even though he had resolved to strengthen his soul in this afterlife, having determination and seeking death were two different things.

Just as Lu Yuanming was agonizing over whether to leave the building and suffering from unbearable thirst and hunger, at this moment, in the timeline of his original body, his parents and sister were burning Joss Paper Money.

This was something people in most parts of Z Country did. Before the Spring Festival reunion dinner, they would burn some Joss Paper Money, both to worship their ancestors and to pray for fewer disasters and more blessings in the new year.

Lu Yuanming's physical body lay on the living room sofa, while his parents and sister were burning Joss Paper Money in a small fire basin on the balcony. The three of them burned Joss Paper Money while saying prayers for their ancestors to receive the money, for their ancestors' blessings, or for Lu Yuanming to wake up soon.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuanming, who was on the second floor of the building, felt the urge to leave the building again due to hunger and thirst. But this direct departure was fraught with danger. His reason told him he needed a longer-term plan, so Lu Yuanming was now caught in a dilemma and anxiety.

Just then, he was shocked to discover that some light particles were appearing out of thin air. It started with one, then more and more, until finally, eleven light particles floated around him.

Lu Yuanming was overjoyed. He reached out to grab these light particles, but he suppressed the instinct. This was the afterlife, and what if some ghosts or curses appeared in the form of light particles?

Moreover, Lu Yuanming observed closely and found that these light particles were colorless, only giving off a sense of light. They were about the size of a fingernail, colorless and semi-transparent, completely different from the white light particles that appeared after he killed monsters. The difference was noticeable just by looking.

"So... what exactly are these?"

Lu Yuanming dared not touch them easily. He carefully dodged the light particles and began to move. However, as he moved, the light particles also moved with him, floating within a half-meter radius around him, neither getting too far nor too close.

After observing and waiting for more than ten minutes, Lu Yuanming confirmed that these light particles were not ghosts or curses, and they did not seem to harm him. He then cautiously brought his finger close to a light particle and slowly touched it.

There was no pain or corrosion. As his finger touched it, Lu Yuanming felt a sensation similar to touching a bubble or a plastic film. The colorless light particle did not break; it allowed his finger to touch it, and then he picked it up with his palm.

Lu Yuanming fiddled with and observed the light particle carefully. After a long time, he still didn't know what it was. He even put it in his mouth to chew, but the light particle remained unchanged. It looked fragile but was incredibly resilient. This was definitely not the white light particle that appeared after killing monsters!

After fiddling with it for a long time, Lu Yuanming had to give up. He was thirsty and hungry and didn't have the energy to investigate this sudden appearance.

"I'm so thirsty. I want a Big Bowl Covered Tea, or even a large bucket of Mineral Water would be great."

Lu Yuanming played with the colorless light particles in his hand. He lay down on the ground, silently waiting for the seventy-two hours to pass. He decided to leave the building and explore after he could cross over. This meant he would have to endure hunger and thirst continuously, so he muttered to himself, thinking about the food and drinks he had consumed in the past.

Just then, his hand suddenly felt heavy, and he felt a burning pain. Startled, he immediately threw it away and rolled a meter or two away.

He thought the colorless light particle had finally harmed him, but when he looked at the spot where he had been lying, he was stunned.

Where he had just been lying, there was a large bucket of Mineral Water and a Big Bowl Covered Tea on the ground. The Big Bowl Covered Tea had overturned, spilling tea leaves and boiling hot water. He had just been scalded by this hot water.

"?"

Lu Yuanming's mind was filled with questions. He looked around, in front, behind, left, right, and then focused his gaze on the colorless light particles.

One, two, three... ten. A total of ten colorless light particles. One was missing – the one Lu Yuanming had been playing with!

Lu Yuanming had some guesses. He quickly ran to the bucket of Mineral Water. First, he carefully observed the color and texture of the water, shook it, opened the lid and smelled it, then dipped a finger in to taste a little. Yes, the color, the smell, the taste – it was indeed water...

At that moment, Lu Yuanming couldn't bother to investigate further. He gulped down the Mineral Water until his stomach was bulging. Then, he lay down next to the bucket of Mineral Water, sighing with happiness.

After two or three minutes, Lu Yuanming carefully picked up another colorless light particle and pressed it onto the floor. At the same time, he thought of White Rice, Spicy Diced Chicken, Hot Pot, Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, Shao Bai, Chopped Chili Fish Head... and other delicacies.

Immediately, as if by magic, a large bowl of White Rice appeared on the ground, a pot of Hot Pot with both meat and vegetables, a plate of Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, and half a plate of Shao Bai... half a plate?

Lu Yuanming immediately started eating, and while eating, he pondered the half plate of Shao Bai.

"One colorless light particle can materialize things based on what you think, but this materialization is not infinite. You can't materialize as much as you want. It follows a principle of equivalent exchange. The specific exchange formula still needs to be tested. And the origin of these colorless light particles is also a mystery. They seem to appear out of nowhere, but they surround me. They should be related to me, but I haven't done anything..."

Lu Yuanming pondered these thoughts. He could confirm that the colorless light particles appeared without any reason. During this time, he had done nothing, killed no monsters, and made no changes.

"...Perhaps a high-level being, like a Deity or some powerful entity, saw that I was starving and gave me this benefit? No, maybe it's paper money burned for me by the living."

Lu Yuanming ate almost all the food, his stomach completely distended. He lay lazily on the ground, carefully examining the remaining nine Colorless Light Particles. He mused while making light of the situation, but after saying this, he suddenly froze.

As a native of Chongqing, Z Country, he had been taken by his parents to burn Joss Paper Money since he was young. Whether it was for his birthday, the anniversary of their passing, or during Spring Festival, he burned it two or three times a year. He vaguely remembered his parents saying that this paper money was food for their ancestors, their Incense.

"That's right! If I calculate the time, Spring Festival is these two days. My parents must be burning Joss Paper Money and definitely thinking of me. And I'm dead now. Although my soul has crossed time and space, aren't ancestors also ancient people? In other words... could these Colorless Light Particles be Incense? Or something similar to Faith in novels?"

Lu Yuanming's eyes lit up as he looked at the remaining nine Colorless Light Particles. He pinched off another one. This time, he didn't think about food or anything like that, but about something else. He wanted to test this sudden idea.

Slowly, this Colorless Light Particle disappeared, and in Lu Yuanming's hand lay a semi-transparent Bullet!

Lu Yuanming immediately took out his Pistol and inserted this Bullet into the magazine, then reassembled the magazine. Lu Yuanming aimed the Pistol forward, but he hesitated to pull the trigger. On one hand, he was afraid of his hope turning into disappointment; on the other hand, he was afraid the gunshot from the Pistol would attract Monsters.

Just as Lu Yuanming was hesitating, suddenly, screams came from the street outside the building, and they were children's screams!

Lu Yuanming immediately ran towards the second-floor staircase and peeked towards the street through a collapsed wall. A few seconds later, he saw Humans.

Two adults and five children were running on the street, and behind them, three Man-faced Dogs were chasing madly. One girl looked about seven or eight years old, but she was very fat. As she ran, her foot tripped, and she fell to the ground. The others continued to run forward. Then, within Lu Yuanming's sight, the fat child was pinned to the ground by the paws of a Man-faced Dog, its ferocious giant mouth tearing downwards.

In just one bite, only a pile of torn flesh remained in the Man-faced Dog's mouth...

Lu Yuanming's pupils contracted. He covered his mouth tightly. At the same time, the remaining six people ran straight towards the building he was in, rushing into the first floor. Closely following them, two Man-faced Dogs that had not yet obtained their prey also rushed into the building!