Renovations

The Mystical System belonged to a rare category of abilities. Sometimes, its effects far surpassed those of other systems. If An Rongru truly possessed an Innate Ability from the Mystical System, Mu Xiao would naturally change his attitude toward her. He would no longer see her as merely a beauty to warm his bed, but would begin to take the value of her abilities seriously.

Mu Xiao was a practical man. If she was of no use, he saw no need to place excessive expectations on her. She only needed to stay alive and handle some logistical work.

"Then I'll keep her by my side." Mu Xiao made his decision.

In the future, there would be more and more New Humans. Competition for resources and talent would become brutally fierce. By then, Mutant Monsters would not be the only threat. Once New Humans began cultivating various Source Force Martial Arts and Soul Secret Arts, the world would undergo earth-shaking changes, ushering in a great age of cultivation—and an age of conflict among New Humans.

By then, powerful New Humans would establish their own factions. The future Kings, in particular, would become major figures controlling entire forces. More importantly, there would be powerful beings from the moon... Any of them could become enemies.

Those future Kings were destined to become the most successful New Human Evolvers. They were fated to represent great powers and stand at the pinnacle of New Human evolution. Yet they possessed immense ambition, taking advantage of the world's loss of order to rule their own territories and seek to become masters of the new world.

Of course, to Mu Xiao, a reborn man who understood the entire course of the world, those who wanted to rule the world were utterly laughable. Some radical madmen even wanted to become "gods"...

Naturally, he would not participate in such childish ambitions of ruling the world. He wanted to break free from the shackles of fate, sweep away every enemy, stand above the stars, and advance toward eternity!

However, all of that was far too early for Mu Xiao now. He merely treated it as a pursuit of strength, since no one knew what crises lay ahead. Therefore, he had to establish a force of his own. It did not need to be large; it only needed to consist entirely of the elite among New Humans. As long as it had enough strength to gain a foothold before those great powers, he would have a stable road ahead.

He had once fought alone and understood the insignificance of individual strength. Especially after witnessing the greatest secret hidden on the moon, he could not help but feel powerless. If he set foot on the moon again one day, he did not want to fight alone.

Moreover, apart from that earth-shattering secret, he also had a blood debt to settle with a force on the moon. That was why he wanted to build a force and prepare for the future.

The night was still, and the moonlight was cold as ice. In the past, this would have been the golden hour when lights blazed everywhere. Yet since the apocalyptic crisis erupted, seven or eight at night had become as quiet as midnight, as though the entire world had fallen into a bottomless abyss and everyone's hearts were filled with uneasy fear.

An Rongru went to the bathroom to wash away her fragrant sweat, while Mu Xiao sat alone for a while, sorting through matters he had not had time to consider during the day.

Not long after, An Rongru emerged from the bathroom after washing up. She wore a pair of shorts on her lower body, revealing snow-white, slender legs that were round and plump, still glistening faintly with water. Her skin looked even softer and more tender. Since all her clothes had been soaked through with sweat, she could not put her sports jacket and bra back on. She wore only a women's T-shirt, but her figure was far too full. Her towering breasts were tightly bound beneath the fabric, full and swollen, large and high, as if they might burst through the T-shirt. Even the tips of her breasts were clearly outlined. Her mature, voluptuous body was filled with a woman's most seductive charm.

Mu Xiao had just taken out the Mechanical Inner Armor and weapons, preparing to repair them once more. In particular, the Mechanical Inner Armor had not yet had all its functions fully restored. However, Mechanical Mastery had already reached the second realm, allowing him to activate more functions and strengthen the armor's defense.

At that moment, An Rongru happened to walk out in such a provocative state. Mu Xiao glanced at her, and the desire he had only recently suppressed showed signs of flaring up again.

An Rongru had not found another set of sportswear to change into, so she had no choice but to find a T-shirt to wear as underwear.

Yet after putting it on, she realized how embarrassingly revealing she looked. There was no second set of clothes to change into, so she could only walk out with a flushed, seductive face. When she met Mu Xiao's burning gaze, her cheeks immediately reddened, her heart raced, and she nearly melted beneath his heated stare.

"What a woman, mature to the bone. Perhaps not many men could withstand such a test..."

Mu Xiao did not want desire to control his emotions. With an iron will, he looked away and said calmly, "You're tired today too. Go to sleep first. I still have things to do."

"Mm." An Rongru lowered her head shyly. Under the light, her face was as red as a ripe cherry, carrying an indescribable charm.

Only after An Rongru shyly slipped beneath the covers did Mu Xiao shake his head with a bitter smile. Since being reborn, he had deliberately restrained the extreme temperament he once possessed. He wanted to become an Evolver with humanity and emotions again, but acting entirely as he pleased was truly difficult. After all, her willingness was a prerequisite. If it had been the old him, a beautiful, mature woman like An Rongru would already have become a slave girl moaning beneath him.

He did not dwell on those absurd and chaotic memories from the past. He shifted his mindset and faced the road ahead.

In the basement of the Lawyer Building, Mu Xiao had taken three of the nine A-rank "Vajra Mechanical Inner Armors." He wore one himself, one belonged to An Rongru, and the other was equipment he had reserved for his younger sister, Mu Xuanyin. When he had been at the Lawyer Building, his Mechanical Mastery had only been at the first realm. Now that he had reached the second realm, he could restore half the armor's functions and improve its defensive power.

Mu Xiao's thoughts were as precise as an Optical Brain. Fine beams of light extended from his hands, connecting to the Mechanical Inner Armor like data cables and continuously transmitting data into it. He first removed the electronic virus hidden within the armor, then repaired the programs damaged by that virus.

It was only because the molecules in the world's air had changed that abilities once impossible to explain could exist.

In fact, before the Age of Evolution, every inconceivable and mysterious thing would become only natural.

With the consciousness data of the second realm of Mechanical Mastery, he smoothly completed the full repair of the Energy Defense System. The Mechanical Inner Armor could now withstand an impact of two thousand kilograms without damage. It could resist up to three thousand kilograms before the force would be transmitted to the wearer's body and cause injury. It could also neutralize energy below A-rank. In other words, A-rank weapons could not break through the Mechanical Inner Armor's defenses.

Of course, if it suffered repeated massive impacts, the energy stored within the armor would be consumed more quickly. Once all that energy was exhausted, the armor's defense would be inferior even to an iron plate.

"If I encounter a Mutant Human, the Mechanical Inner Armor's energy defense should at least cut its damage by more than half." Mu Xiao nodded in satisfaction and began working on the next set of armor.

Having become a New Human with an Apex Physique, Mu Xiao possessed physical strength of more than five thousand kilograms. As his physique improved, his physical strength would also increase. Once an ordinary New Human with an Apex Physique reached the peak twelfth realm, their physical strength would be around sixteen thousand kilograms. With pure physical strength alone, they could kill any creature at the Gene Resonance level with a single punch. Furthermore, the force generated through evolution realms was even stronger than physical power. Once one cultivated Source Force Martial Arts, that power would undergo a qualitative transformation that equipment of this era could not defend against, unless it had been modified.

However, raising one's physique realm was difficult. Some people achieved one hundred Gene Resonances and entered the realm of cultivation and evolution, gaining a certain enhancement to their physiques. Most New Humans only possessed an Apex Physique. To improve further, they had to find other methods, because physique was not simply about strengthening muscles, but about the comprehensive improvement of the entire body.

But Mu Xiao possessed the Primordial Source, which strengthened his innate potential, as well as the ability to devour Blood Energy to strengthen his body. He also retained countless cultivation memories from before his rebirth. He had advantages others lacked, unlike in the past when he had needed to slowly explore methods of improving his physique. Therefore, whether he cultivated Source Force Martial Arts, Soul Secret Arts, or even both at once, there would be no drawbacks.

Next, Mu Xiao busied himself repairing the Mechanical Inner Armor. However, the Automatic Detection System and Automatic Defense System had yet to be successfully activated. If it were fully restored, the Mechanical Inner Armor could project energy outward and form a Vajra shield, achieving defense without blind spots across the entire body.

With the Energy Defense System now successfully repaired, the Mechanical Inner Armor he wore could only protect his upper body. His limbs and head remained outside its defensive range.

Mu Xiao repaired the Energy Defense Systems in all three sets of Mechanical Inner Armor. Although they could not achieve perfect defense, their defensive power increased greatly, reducing the number of vulnerable vital areas and adding another layer of security. He also overhauled the remaining Laser Pistols, High-Vibration Electromagnetic Military Sabers, and Thunderbolt Cannon, allowing the weapons to properly display their intended destructive power and even improving their performance by around ten percent.

He put some equipment away in his backpack, set aside the weapons and gear needed for tomorrow, then organized the contents of several backpacks so they would be ready for departure early the next morning.

After finishing everything, Mu Xiao sat cross-legged and entered meditation. He optimized and adjusted his blood vitality, spirit, and strength, allowing his blood vitality to circulate and nourish the injuries left by battle. He cleared distracting thoughts from his mind, gently spread his Mental Power, sensed the energy molecules in the air, and enhanced his future sensitivity to Source Force molecules during cultivation.

He meditated until midnight, adjusting himself to his best possible condition.

In truth, the main purpose of his meditation was to make his soul after rebirth more compatible with his former body.

Mu Xiao could sleep or remain awake, but since he intended to bring An Rongru into his circle, he naturally did not want to miss the chance to win her heart.

Moreover, Mu Xiao could see that An Rongru did not reject him too strongly. That was a good sign.

"In the future Evolution Era, finding someone trustworthy will be far too difficult. Only those who endured hardship together at the beginning of this disaster can barely be trusted. I hope she will not betray my trust in the future..." Mu Xiao looked toward An Rongru, who had been exhausted for the entire day and was already asleep on the bed.

In the face of disaster, human nature revealed an extremely ugly side. Yet the world had two sides, so naturally there were also people of extreme kindness and strong justice. Such people were simply too rare. Still, one distorted truth could not be denied: whether they were perverse Evolvers or sinister Evolvers, as long as they had friends who had endured hardship with them before the apocalypse began, their bonds would certainly run deep.

Perhaps the world had already collapsed, and human nature had become untrustworthy. If one could not preserve that final trace of human feeling, then one would be no different from a Mutant Human. Once human nature became filled with negative emotions, sooner or later one would stumble upon the path of evolution, lose one's humanity, and become something inhuman.