A Man and a Woman

"Those monsters from before have all been dealt with, but such a huge explosion here will likely attract other monsters." Mu Xiao had little time to gaze at her affectionately and sigh over their feelings. The moment he entered, he dropped the corpse of the mutated guard, then immediately 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 in the morning, An Rongru would certainly have been flustered and uneasy. Yet perhaps because Mu Xiao was here, or because she had already developed the genetic resonance of a new human and felt greater strength than before coursing through her body, she was no longer as 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 hands against the electronic lock. Threads of light like data cables flickered from his fingers and seeped into it, connecting to the internal program and beginning 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 impulse and absorb it. It's a psychic ability. Once you absorb it, you'll understand what it does. You've probably already noticed that your body suddenly became stronger than before. I'll explain everything later."

"Mm." An Rongru nodded obediently, unafraid of the mutated guard's corpse. When her delicate hand touched the source of "Life Detection," she immediately felt the urge Mu Xiao had described—the urge to absorb it... She could also sense that the substance would benefit her body, so she accepted the absorption. The grayish-white source gradually faded away.

An invisible, flawless psychic fluctuation formed within her mind, rippling outward like water. Without relying on her eyes, she could clearly sense the darkness around her. She could even feel a powerful lingering life fluctuation from the mutated guard's corpse.

When it touched Mu Xiao's body, she discovered that his life force was as vigorous as fire. Even her psychic power felt faintly scorched by the heat.

"Don't conduct close-range scans on someone much stronger than you," Mu Xiao said, sensing that An Rongru had successfully absorbed the ability. "It's easy for them to notice, provoke a counterattack, and cause your psychic power to backlash. Also, don't leave your psychic power on a target for too long when 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. First, gather your detection power and try to shield our auras, so the monsters outside lose their targets."

Mu Xiao was devoting all his efforts to repairing the electronic lock's operating program and could not spare any psychic power to shield their auras. Besides, An Rongru possessed the ability "Life Detection," whose shielding aspect was even superior to Mu Xiao's psychic ability. After all, An Rongru's was a specialized ability, while Mu Xiao's was merely a trait carried by his psychic power. He had yet to evolve the various specialized traits contained within "pure psychic power," so naturally he could not compare with the specialized trait of "Life Detection."

Although his psychic power did not seem especially capable, it actually possessed powerful sensitivity and defensive qualities. For example, if someone openly scanned his body like An Rongru had, he would definitely notice and launch a psychic counterattack. Even certain abilities from the "psychic system" would deal little damage to him or be rendered ineffective. Moreover, he could keenly receive the traits of another person's psychic ability and determine what kind of ability they possessed.

"Pure psychic power" was the source of all "psychic system" abilities. Once cultivated into the Mind Force of a "soul secret art," it became an extremely powerful ability for both killing and support. But Mu Xiao had only secured this "source" for now and could not yet use it to evolve other traits.

With Mu Xiao's guidance, and after successfully absorbing the source of "Life Detection," An Rongru received the information contained within the ability. In an instant, she gained a preliminary grasp of how to use it. As long as she learned the cultivation method of a "soul secret art," she could naturally refine the source of "Life Detection" and evolve it into even more formidable techniques.

—Life was like a torch. The brightness and temperature of its burning flame determined whether a lifeform was strong or weak. If the torch contained within life could be shielded, it meant that the aura of life had been cut off.

Having comprehended the traits of "Life Detection," An Rongru stirred her thoughts slightly. An invisible psychic force emerged from between her brows, floated above her head, and transformed into rings of watery ripples that descended around them. Very quickly, it blocked the life-force fluctuations radiating from both her and Mu Xiao.

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

In particular, this ability could conceal her aura and help her avoid danger, increasing her chances of survival. Naturally, she felt a little more at ease.

However, An Rongru was not some busty idiot. She had once been a female chairwoman who controlled enormous funds, meticulous and thoughtful in her dealings. As a wealthy single woman, many people had harbored improper thoughts toward her, so her mind was naturally more delicate and perceptive than most.

Once she calmed down and gave it some thought, she understood why Mu Xiao had given her this ability. Warmth involuntarily welled up in her heart.

"Thank you." An Rongru's brows and eyes were beautiful, her gaze shimmering like water, her voice gentle and soft.

"This is what you deserve." 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 sealed the door.

If he had connected to the metal door's electronic lock program through the optical computer system of that large machine, he would have been unable to transmit data into the virus-ridden optical computer. But transmitting directly through the metal door's program was much simpler. The only issue was that he had to use his "mechanical" ability to close and open the metal door.

The raging flames caused by the explosion outside refused to die down, turning the surrounding area crimson and scorching. The thunderous explosion, along with the corpses of zombies scattered everywhere, filled the stifling air with waves of foul, bloody stench that soon stirred the appetite of distant zombies.

Night surged onward as more and more zombies gathered around the burning flames. Perhaps because the air was filled with scorching energy, most of them remained still. Zombies disliked attributes such as flames, lightning, and light, because such attributes naturally restrained their constitution.

Among this huge horde of savage zombies that looked like demons and ghosts, the weakest had undergone at least ten genetic resonances. There were even enhanced zombies with more than twenty.

Enhanced zombies possessed one particularly powerful trait. For instance, the "muscle-type" zombie Mu Xiao had encountered in the law office possessed strength and defense several times greater than other zombies. This kind of enhanced zombie had a high chance of dropping an enhancement-type ability source, and absorbing one would greatly benefit the user. The "Muscle Enhancement" source Mu Xiao had absorbed provided more enhancement than killing several zombies might have.

But more than ten enhanced zombies had arrived outside, each with over twenty genetic resonances. Such a group was no less troublesome than a mutated human—perhaps even far more troublesome than one. It was nighttime, and these enhanced zombies' combat power had greatly increased. Their numbers were simply too great for a direct confrontation.

Mu Xiao had once told An Rongru in the law office that nighttime was an extremely dangerous period. He had feared precisely this sort of situation, with all manner of monsters appearing.

If that group of enhanced zombies charged into the metal door of the security hall now, Mu Xiao would be unable to hold them back and could only fight to the death.

Fortunately, the tremendous flames from the burning motorcycles and sports cars in front of the door blocked the zombies' path and line of sight. The scorching heat in the air burned away the scent of living humans left behind by Mu Xiao and An Rongru, indirectly preventing the zombies from sensing them. That gave Mu Xiao enough time to repair the metal door's system.

In truth, An Rongru's life-force shield was merely an additional safeguard. It was meant to prevent some zombies from ignoring the corpses of their companions, noticing some clue outside, and breaking through the door. If a battle truly began then, they would be stirring up a hornet's nest and 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 even more dangerous. At night, without a safe place to settle down, they would simply be gambling with their lives.

Bzz!

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

"Gather the things on the ground. Let's go up to the third floor. Even if monsters outside manage to break in, we'll have time to prepare for battle upstairs." Mu Xiao turned and gave the order.

"Mm." An Rongru nodded and efficiently collected the grenade bombs from the floor, along with the Thunderbolt Cannon.

"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 grenade bombs had been placed among the landscaped woods. Because he had underestimated the cunning intelligence of the mutated guard, his arrangements had been flawed, and a pile of grenades there had gone unused. But he could not go retrieve them now. He could only wait until morning to see how many remained.

After all, if zombies passed through there during the night, the grenades might kill other zombies and waste a large number of them. Moreover, if zombies were killed from that far away, their evolution energy sources would not be transmitted to him. Mu Xiao would naturally lose out on a large amount of experience.

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

As Mu Xiao spoke, he took the bag of grenade bombs from An Rongru. Suddenly noticing that she had not moved, he assumed she was afraid to go upstairs alone. But when he looked carefully, he found that her cheeks were flushed like rosy clouds, brimming with enchanting charm. Her eyes were soft and full of spring, and he immediately realized that she had misunderstood him.

A lone man and a lone woman sharing a room—what else could they do?

Mu Xiao had not originally entertained such thoughts, but as he looked at An Rongru, this mature and beautiful woman with her voluptuous figure, graceful bearing, and soft elegance, he could not help himself. Her incomparably lovely face carried a hidden allure beneath its dignified beauty. Her bright, watery eyes shone with bashfulness and a hint of nervousness, making one unable to resist the urge to pounce on her and fiercely ** her.

Mu Xiao was not an inexperienced virgin. He indeed felt the attraction any man would feel toward a voluptuous beauty like An Rongru, with her large breasts and full hips. But he clearly distinguished attraction from desire. He had no extra thoughts right now; he only wanted An Rongru to head upstairs first. As for whether he would devour her mature, voluptuous body tonight, that would depend on the mood and circumstances at the time.

"You go up first." Mu Xiao repeated himself.

"Mm." An Rongru seemed to snap out of her embarrassed unease. At that moment, her peach-blossom face became even more vivid and captivating. She cast Mu Xiao a glance brimming with charm, and her heart immediately raced. Her whole body felt as though it were being lightly scratched by a cat, desire overflowing as she fled toward the staircase.

"If we get a safe moment, I really can't let such a fully ripened beauty slip away." Mu Xiao watched An Rongru's departing figure. Her round, broad hips stretched her pants tight and full, barely able to contain their lush curves. As she hurried along with a swaying stride, she resembled a gorgeous queen bee with full hips, moving with seductive grace and overflowing with the charm of a mature woman—enough to melt a man to the bone.

Only after An Rongru's alluring figure vanished around the stairway did Mu Xiao shift his gaze to the mutated guard's corpse. The heat rising faintly within him soon subsided. He was considering whether to devour another mutated human heart containing extreme blood energy, converting that extreme blood energy into a source that could strengthen his physique.