A Man and a Woman Alone

"The monsters from before have been dealt with, but there was a huge explosion here. It could very well attract other monsters." Mu Xiao had no time to gaze affectionately into her eyes and lament their situation. The moment he entered, he tossed down the Guard Mutant Human's corpse and swiftly shut the metal door. However, the gate mechanism had already been damaged. Unless the magnetic electronic lock was activated, it could easily be forced open.

If she had heard such news that morning, An Rongru would definitely have panicked. Yet, perhaps because Mu Xiao was here, or perhaps because she had already gained the Gene Resonance of New Humans and felt far greater strength within her body than before, she was no longer so afraid of those monsters.

She remained silent, her gentle gaze fixed on Mu Xiao's back.

Click!

The heavy metal door slowly closed, though it did not lock completely.

"Mechanical Mastery has already broken through to the second level. Maybe I can repair this magnetic lock." Mu Xiao pressed his hand against the electronic lock. Light like data cables flickered from his hands, seeping into the lock as he connected to its internal program and began the repairs.

As he repaired the door's electronic program, he spoke to An Rongru behind him. "There's a glowing substance on the corpse. Once you touch it, you'll feel the urge to absorb it. Don't overthink it; just follow that urge and absorb it. It's a mental ability. Once you absorb it, you'll understand what it does. I'm sure you've already noticed that your body suddenly became much stronger than before. I'll explain everything later."

"Mm." An Rongru nodded obediently, unafraid of the dead Guard Mutant Human's corpse. When her slender hand touched the cluster of Life Detection source energy, she immediately felt the urge Mu Xiao had mentioned—the urge to absorb it... She also sensed that the substance would benefit her body, so she silently accepted it. The grayish-white source energy gradually dissipated.

An invisible, flawless mental ripple formed within her mind, spreading like ripples on water. Even without relying on her vision, she could clearly sense the darkness around her. She could even feel the powerful life fluctuations still lingering within the Mutant Human's corpse.

When her perception touched Mu Xiao's body, she discovered that his life force burned as fiercely as fire. Even her Mental Power felt slightly scorched by its heat.

"Don't conduct close-range scans on someone much stronger than you. It's easy for them to notice, and they may retaliate, causing your Mental Power to backlash." Mu Xiao sensed that An Rongru had successfully absorbed the ability and said, "Also, don't keep your Mental Power on a target for too long while scanning. If someone is far stronger than you, it's best not to scan them at all. You need to become familiar with using your ability. For now, gather your detection Mental Power and try to shield our presence, so the monsters outside lose their target."

Mu Xiao was fully focused on repairing the electronic lock's control program and could not spare any Mental Power to conceal their presence. Besides, An Rongru possessed Life Detection, and in terms of concealment, it was even more effective than Mu Xiao's mental ability. After all, An Rongru's was a specialized ability, while Mu Xiao's was merely one trait carried by his Mental Power. He was still unable to evolve the various specialized traits contained within Pure Mental Force, so naturally he could not compare to the specialized traits of Life Detection.

Although his Mental Power appeared to possess no particularly powerful abilities, it was actually highly sensitive and defensive. For instance, if someone openly scanned his body the way An Rongru had, he would definitely notice and retaliate with Mental Power. Some Mental System abilities would cause him little harm or even be rendered ineffective. Moreover, he could keenly receive the traits of another person's mental ability and determine what kind of ability they possessed.

Pure Mental Force was the source of all Mental System abilities. If cultivated into the Mind Force of a Soul Secret Art, it would become an extremely powerful ability for both killing and support. But Mu Xiao was currently only guarding this "source" and could not yet use it to evolve other traits.

With Mu Xiao's guidance and her successful absorption of the Life Detection source energy, An Rongru received the information contained within the ability and immediately gained a preliminary grasp of how to use it. Once she learned to cultivate a Soul Secret Art, she could naturally refine the Life Detection source energy and evolve it into even more formidable techniques.

—Life was like a torch. The light and heat of its flame determined whether a living being was strong or weak. If the torch contained within life could be shielded, that meant its life aura had been cut off.

Having comprehended the traits of Life Detection, An Rongru stirred her thoughts slightly. An invisible force of Mental Power flowed from between her brows, drifting above her head before turning into circles of water-like ripples that descended around them. Very soon, the life force fluctuations radiating from both her and Mu Xiao were completely concealed.

"Done." An Rongru smiled happily. She had successfully mastered the first ability she acquired.

Especially since this ability could conceal her aura and evade danger, increasing her chances of survival, she naturally felt a little more at ease.

However, An Rongru was not some brainless woman with a large chest. She had once been a female chairwoman who controlled enormous funds, meticulous and thoughtful in handling matters. Moreover, as a wealthy single woman, many people had harbored improper thoughts toward her. Naturally, her mind was more delicate and perceptive than most.

Once she calmed down and thought about it for a moment, she understood why Mu Xiao had given her this ability. Warmth involuntarily rose in her heart.

"Thank you." An Rongru's beautiful brows and eyes were bright as water, and her voice was gentle and soft.

"You earned it." The mechanical data in Mu Xiao's mind had successfully connected to the metal door's electronic lock program. It would not be long before he repaired the program and shut the door completely.

If he had tried to connect to the metal door's electronic lock program through the Optical Brain system of that large machine, he would have been unable to transmit the data into the virus-ridden Optical Brain. But directly transmitting it through the metal door's program was much simpler. The only drawback was that opening and closing the metal door had to be done using Mechanical Mastery.

The raging flames caused by the explosion outside lingered for a long time, turning the surrounding area red-hot. The tremendous blast and the corpses of zombies scattered everywhere filled the sweltering air with waves of foul, bloody stench, quickly drawing the appetites of distant zombies.

Night deepened, and more and more zombies gathered around the burning flames. Perhaps because the air was saturated with scorching energy, most of the zombies remained still. Zombies disliked attributes such as fire, lightning, and light, because those attributes strongly restrained their physiques.

Among this vast group of hideous, demon-like zombies, even the weakest had undergone ten Gene Resonances. There were even Enhanced Zombies with more than twenty Gene Resonances.

Enhanced Zombies possessed one exceptionally powerful trait. For example, the "muscle-type" zombie Mu Xiao had encountered at the Lawyer Building possessed strength and defense several times greater than ordinary zombies. Such Enhanced Zombies had a high chance of dropping an enhancement-type Ability Source. Absorbing one was greatly beneficial; the Muscle Enhancement source energy Mu Xiao had absorbed could produce effects that might not be matched even by killing several zombies.

Yet more than ten Enhanced Zombies had arrived outside, and they all possessed over twenty Gene Resonances. Such a group was no less troublesome than a Mutant Human, perhaps even far more troublesome. It was nighttime, and these Enhanced Zombies' combat strength was greatly increased. There were simply too many of them to confront head-on.

Mu Xiao had once told An Rongru at the Lawyer Building that nighttime was extremely dangerous. He had feared precisely this sort of gathering of monsters and freaks.

If those Enhanced Zombies charged into the security hall's metal door now, Mu Xiao would be unable to hold them back and could only fight to the death.

Fortunately, the enormous flames from the burning motorcycle sports car blocked the zombies' path and line of sight. The scorching heat in the air had burned away the scent of living humans left by Mu Xiao and An Rongru, indirectly obstructing the zombies' ability to sense their presence. That was why Mu Xiao had enough time to repair the metal door's program system.

In truth, An Rongru's life-force barrier was only an additional safeguard. It was meant to prevent some zombies from ignoring their companions' corpses, finding some clue outside, and breaking through the door. If a battle truly broke out then, it would be like stirring up a hornet's nest, and they would have no choice but to fight.

Therefore, repairing the metal door was something Mu Xiao had to do. He had no choice but to repair it. At this point, they could not leave even if they wanted to. Even if they had tried to leave earlier, it might have been more dangerous than remaining here, because finding no safe place to stay at night was nothing more than gambling with their lives.

Buzz!

The metal door gave a soft hum. The faint glow around Mu Xiao's hands gradually faded, and he secretly let out a breath of relief. He had finally activated the magnetic energy of the electronic lock and properly sealed the metal door. For the moment, they were safe for the night.

"Gather the things on the floor. We'll go up to the third floor. Even if a monster outside manages to break in, we'll have time upstairs to prepare for battle." Mu Xiao turned around and gave the order.

"Mm." An Rongru nodded and efficiently gathered the grenades and the Thunderbolt Cannon from the ground.

"Oh, leave that backpack of grenades behind." Mu Xiao explained, "I'll set up a few things here. If there's an explosion, it can serve as a warning for us."

Most of Mu Xiao's grenades had been placed among the landscaped trees. Because he had underestimated the Guard Mutant Human's cunning intelligence, his arrangements had been flawed, and a pile of grenades remained there unused. But he could not retrieve them now. He could only wait until morning to see how many were left.

After all, if zombies wandered through the area at night, they might trigger the grenades and be blown apart, wasting a large number of them. Furthermore, if zombies were killed at such a distance, their Evolutionary Power Source would not be transmitted to him. Mu Xiao would naturally lose out on a great deal of experience.

"Use your Mental Power to search the second and third floors for food or other daily necessities. Find everything and bring it all to a room on the third floor. We'll spend the night in that room."

As Mu Xiao spoke, he took the bag of grenades from An Rongru. Suddenly noticing that she had not moved, he assumed she was afraid to go upstairs alone. But when he looked closely, he saw that her cheeks were flushed like rosy clouds, her beauty overflowing with charm. Her eyes were soft with springtime longing. He immediately realized that she had misunderstood what he meant.

A man and a woman alone in the same room—what else could they possibly do?

Mu Xiao had not been thinking along those lines, but as he looked at An Rongru's mature, beautiful figure—full-bodied, graceful, elegant, and soft—his thoughts shifted. Her exquisitely beautiful face carried a faint seductive charm beneath its dignified loveliness. Her watery, glittering eyes held both shyness and a trace of uneasy restraint, making one unable to resist the urge to pounce on her and ravish her fiercely.

Mu Xiao was not an inexperienced boy. He certainly felt the kind of attraction any man would toward a voluptuous beauty like An Rongru, with her ample breasts and lush hips. But he clearly distinguished attraction from desire. He had no extra thoughts for now; he merely wanted to send An Rongru upstairs first. As for whether he would have her mature, full body for himself tonight, that would depend on the atmosphere and circumstances at the time.

"Go upstairs first." Mu Xiao repeated himself.

"Mm." An Rongru seemed to snap out of her embarrassed unease. Her peach-blossom face became even more vivid and captivating. She gave Mu Xiao a glance filled with boundless charm, and her heart immediately raced. Her entire body felt as though it were being lightly scratched by a cat, desire surging through her as she fled toward the stairs.

"If there's ever a safe time, I really can't let this fully ripened beauty slip away." Mu Xiao watched An Rongru's retreating figure. Her round, plump hips stretched her pants tight and full, unable to contain their lushness. As she hurried away with a sway in every step, she resembled a gorgeous queen bee with a voluptuous rear, graceful and alluring, overflowing with the charm of a mature woman—enough to melt a man to the bone.

When An Rongru's desire-stirring figure disappeared at the stairwell, Mu Xiao finally shifted his gaze to the Guard Mutant Human's corpse. The heat rising in his heart quickly settled. He was considering whether to devour another Mutant Human heart containing Extreme Blood Energy and transform that Extreme Blood Energy into a source energy that strengthened his physique.