Su Dazhu

Chen Luo opened the car door to let the Thunder Dharma King in.

The Thunder Dharma King hesitated, then jumped into the car.

Chen Luo gave a satisfied glance, closed the door, and said to Wang Ming, "Send me your bank account number. I'll transfer the money."

Chen Luo had no intention of welshing on this payment.

Overjoyed, Wang Ming sent over his account number. One million was a truly generous sum. He wasn't some hotshot private investigator; he couldn't have earned that much in two years. Now he'd made it in just two days.

Rich people's money really was easier to earn.

After transferring the money, Chen Luo said, "See you around."

Seeing the payment arrive, Wang Ming said excitedly, "Young Master Chen, if you ever need anything else, just say the word. I'll make sure it's handled perfectly."

Chen Luo smiled and nodded, then drove off with the Thunder Dharma King.

While waiting at a red light, Chen Luo looked at the Thunder Dharma King and said with a smile, "From now on, I'll just call you Dharma King."

The Dharma King didn't understand what Chen Luo meant and merely gave a soft bark.

Chen Luo didn't mind. After awakening his ability in the apocalypse, the Dharma King's intelligence would develop further, becoming a match for any human's. Otherwise, Chen Luo wouldn't have needed repeated sneak attacks to get the better of him.

Seeing how filthy the Dharma King was, Chen Luo made a special trip to a pet store to buy some dog shampoo and other bathing supplies.

As for dog food, Chen Luo didn't buy any.

Was the Dharma King an ordinary dog?

I've got to treat him right. Whatever I eat, he eats. As long as I've got a bite to eat, I'll never let him go hungry.

And if I have nothing to eat, I'm sure the Dharma King won't let me starve either.

Chen Luo headed straight home. He needed to spend this time building a proper bond with the Dharma King.

He had traveled so far in search of King that it took over an hour to reach his front door.

This was a villa community, one that could be considered genuinely luxurious even in Demon City.

Every inch of land was worth a fortune, with prices exceeding three hundred thousand per square meter.

The villa had been bought ten years ago, when prices hadn't been so high. Its value had increased seven or eightfold over the past decade.

Chen Luo's villa now had a market value of 350 million.

On the very day he returned to the past, Chen Luo had promptly mortgaged it to a bunch of loan sharks. The interest was steep: he'd borrowed three hundred million and was supposed to repay 330 million a month later.

Heh. In a month, your money will be my money, and my house will still be my house.

Come collect it if you've got the guts.

As he passed the security booth and saw the tall guard standing at the entrance, Chen Luo felt his nose sting, even though he'd already seen him several times since returning to the past.

The guard had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and an honest-looking face-though he looked a little too simple and came across as somewhat dim.

His name was Su Dazhu. He had been Chen Luo's close buddy after the apocalypse, an Esper Ability User whose power enhanced his body.

His body was virtually indestructible, impervious to blades and bullets. He was tough as hell.

But over some supplies, Chen Luo and Su Dazhu had been cornered by a group of people. Back then, Chen Luo hadn't yet mastered Void Walk, and Su Dazhu had held their attackers off.

Chen Luo had escaped safely, but Su Dazhu had been beaten to death by the mob.

Su Dazhu's final furious roar still seemed to echo in Chen Luo's ears.

Although Chen Luo had later avenged him, Su Dazhu was gone forever.

Chen Luo's eyes reddened despite himself. My brother, this time around, I'll make sure you live the good life.

They had been close buddies after the apocalypse, but right now they were only acquaintances. Chen Luo was in no hurry. Su Dazhu would be on duty here when the apocalypse struck. When those old events played out again, they would become brothers once more.

Chen Luo stopped the car and teased, "Dazhu, how about I take you out for some fun after your shift tonight?"

Was this going to be respectable fun?

Su Dazhu gave an honest chuckle. "No thanks, Brother Chen. My ma told me a man shouldn't go astray."

Amused, Chen Luo asked, "What else did your ma tell you?"

Su Dazhu grinned. "She also said anyone being nice for no reason is either after your body or your money."

Chen Luo: "..."

Chen Luo brought the Dharma King into his home. The sizable garden and elegant villa were unfamiliar surroundings, leaving the Dharma King a little timid.

Whether the Dharma King understood him or not, Chen Luo smiled and said, "Dharma King, this is your home from now on. Come on, let's give you a bath first."

The Dharma King was very obedient. Though he was a little afraid of water, he patiently let Chen Luo wash him.

As he bathed the Dharma King, Chen Luo couldn't help thinking about what else he needed to stockpile.

If it were only for himself and his buddies, the delicious food Chen Luo had stockpiled using the small truck would last until the end of his life. They couldn't finish it in a lifetime.

Given a second chance at life, Chen Luo didn't want to live the way he had before.

If he were the only human left in the world, surrounded by nothing but monsters, that bone-chilling loneliness would be unbearable.

Chen Luo wanted more people around him, so he might as well establish a settlement of his own.

The dangers of the apocalypse didn't just come from food shortages. Monsters and other survivors were far greater threats.

Although Chen Luo's talent was powerful, it wasn't suited to head-on combat. Put bluntly, if several hundred reasonably high-level Esper Ability Users attacked him together, he would have no choice but to run.

Why not recruit more followers and fight numbers with numbers?

Chen Luo had a pretty good idea of which powerful Esper Ability Users would rise to prominence in the future. Wouldn't recruiting them ahead of time be a great move?

With his ability space and knowledge of the future, it would be hard for him not to build the strongest faction.

So far, Chen Luo had only stockpiled some meat dishes. Was that enough?

Of course not. He hadn't even started stockpiling staples, fruit, vegetables, seeds, and so on.

Even more important was water. After the apocalypse, water would become contaminated too.

Neither purification equipment nor other methods could remove the virus it contained.

Early in the apocalypse, survivors mostly lived on purified water in bottles, cans, and jugs. But supplies were limited, and getting hold of it wasn't easy.

After the apocalypse, rainy days were probably the happiest days of all.

Once the clean water ran out and there was nothing left to drink, survivors could only turn to virus-ridden water that had, to varying degrees, had corpses soaking in it.

That water wouldn't kill physically robust survivors, but it would hinder the development of an Esper Ability User's powers.

This wasn't discovered until long after the apocalypse began. Chen Luo, who hadn't possessed an ability space in the early days, had been forced to drink plenty of virus-laden water too.

Water was the source of life. It had to be the top priority.

Thinking through his next moves, Chen Luo finished bathing the Dharma King.

After his bath, the Dharma King was much cleaner and looked just a little more handsome.

The Dharma King gazed pitifully at Chen Luo. With a laugh, Chen Luo slapped his own forehead. He hadn't fed the Dharma King yet.

Chen Luo took a serving of sweet-and-sour ribs straight out of his ability space and gave the Dharma King a bowl of his own.

Famished, Dharma King immediately began wolfing them down.

Seeing how much Dharma King enjoyed the food, Chen Luo started drooling too. Although he'd eaten plenty at noon, he'd spent far too long feeling deprived.

Chen Luo took out another serving of sweet-and-sour ribs for himself.

As Chen Luo ate and spat out the bones, Dharma King actually began copying him.

Amused, Chen Luo said, "Hey, even a dog knows how to spit out bones."

As he spoke, Chen Luo spat out a bone he'd finished gnawing.

Then realization struck, and Chen Luo's expression darkened. Fuck. I just insulted myself.