Su Dazhu nodded, picked up his iron rod, and headed for the door.
Without waiting for Chen Luo's instructions, the Dharma King followed Su Dazhu of his own accord.
"I'll give Big Pillar some buffs," Mi Li said.
Mi Li cast two streaks of golden light into Su Dazhu's body in succession.
One was Strength Amplification, and the other was Defense Amplification.
With Chen Luo's help, Mi Li had already reached level two and learned a new buff that increased defense.
The amplification effects were also much stronger than they had been at level one.
If the strength increase at level one had been 10, it was now at least 30. As Mi Li's level rose, Strength Amplification would only become more absurdly powerful.
Mi Li had more natural talent than Su Dazhu, but she had started absorbing crystals a few days later than he had. She probably still needed another week.
Mi Ling also wanted to see whether this man-and-dog duo was really that formidable.
Chen Luo watched from the window, a little sunlight spilling through a gap in the curtains onto his face.
To her surprise, Mi Ling noticed that he was actually rather handsome.
Mi Ling walked to the other side of the window, keeping half a meter between herself and Chen Luo as she watched the scene below.
Zhang Qin and the other five had nearly reached the building's stairwell when a black mongrel suddenly ran out. His coat was glossy, his build sturdy, and he had plenty of meat on him.
Their eyes lit up. Their first thought was that they would have dog meat to eat.
The Dharma King barked furiously at all six of them.
The six exchanged glances and were about to move in and beat the Dharma King to death when Su Dazhu darted out like a ghost from their blind spot, startling them.
Su Dazhu first raised his iron rod and brought it down hard on the bald head of the man holding a large sledgehammer.
Su Dazhu was already strong, and with Mi Li's buff, the bald man's head burst like a smashed watermelon.
The bald man collapsed with his eyes wide open, dying with an uncomprehending stare.
Although the remaining five had all awakened their abilities, seeing such a bloody scene happen to one of their own still terrified them out of their wits.
Su Dazhu didn't pause. He swung his rod at Zhang Qin next.
Among the remaining four, some shakily struck Su Dazhu with the stools and iron rods in their hands.
That meager force was nothing to Su Dazhu.
One of them tried to form an Ice Arrow, his hands trembling.
But he had only just awakened his ability and had no proficiency with it. Instant casting was completely beyond him; casting a single spell would take at least five seconds.
Did he have that much time?
The one who truly dealt them a devastating blow was the Dharma King. Their attention had originally been on him before Su Dazhu drew it away.
Even if their attention hadn't been diverted, the outcome would have been the same.
A single Lightning Ball from the Dharma King blasted three of them to death.
Su Dazhu killed the last one as well.
From the instant the fight began to its end, the entire process took no more than five seconds. Clean and decisive.
Mi Ling wasn't particularly surprised. On her way back, she had taken on five people by herself.
But none of those five had awakened an ability.
Besides, the Dharma King and Su Dazhu had used something of an ambush, but Mi Ling didn't look down on them for it. Killing was killing. Why insist on fighting fair?
Chen Luo, however, was a little surprised. The Dharma King had stepped out first to draw their attention, and Chen Luo had never taught him that.
Had he figured it out himself?
Both the Dharma King and Su Dazhu were strong enough to take on five people alone. Chen Luo had simply sent them together because he was worried and wanted to play it safe.
Glancing back at Mi Li, Chen Luo thought, Mi Ling just taught Mi Li a lesson. I'll give you one too.
"Mi Li, go dig the crystals out from between those six people's eyebrows."
Mi Li pointed at herself in astonishment. "Me?"
Chen Luo nodded. "Yes. Even though you're a support and only need to stay in the back, there are some things you still have to experience firsthand. Otherwise, seeing them at a critical moment might make you sick and affect the battle."
Mi Li had watched Chen Luo extract crystals before, but she had always turned away, too afraid to look. Just looking makes me sick, and you want me to dig them out myself?
Mi Li looked pleadingly at Mi Ling, hoping her sister would put in a word for her.
Instead, Mi Ling slowly nodded too. "Mi Li, you'll have to face this sooner or later. Get used to it now, while it's safe."
Mi Ling swore to herself, As heaven is my witness, I really am not doing this to get back at you for refusing to speak up for me at lunch.
Taking the dagger Chen Luo handed her, Mi Li went downstairs with a pale face.
Su Dazhu had dragged the six bodies to the roadside and was about to retrieve their crystals when he received Chen Luo's signal. He shrugged and stepped aside to let Mi Li do it.
"Dharma King, do it for me, please," Mi Li said, her voice thick with tears.
The Dharma King promptly shook his head. This wasn't a dog's job.
Mi Li vomited after the very first cut. Her hands trembling, she searched for a full three minutes before finally finding the crystal.
Mi Li threw up again. Good grief, she had probably brought up her entire lunch.
After the first time, the second went more smoothly.
Mi Li whimpered inwardly. At lunch, I teamed up with Chen Luo against my sister.
Now my sister and Chen Luo are actually teaming up to make things difficult for me.
A little over ten minutes later, Mi Li handed the wrapped crystals to Chen Luo, her face pale and her hands still shaking.
Chen Luo smiled. "Throw up a few times and you'll get used to it. Big Pillar was like this before too."
Chen Luo washed the crystals and was surprised to find that one of them was a very pale blue-green.
A nature crystal.
Nature Esper Ability Users were fairly rare, but nowhere near as rare as those with space abilities. There might be two or three nature Esper Ability Users in every hundred people.
In the future, vegetables and rice could only be successfully grown with the help of nature Esper Ability Users. Without them, even having seeds and water wouldn't be enough.
The reason seemed to be that even the earth itself had been contaminated.
Nature Esper Ability Users had little combat power early on and only began to shine later. It would also take at least half a year, once their levels had risen, before they could successfully grow crops.
Mi Ling gave a soft huff and started cooking noodles. She used a packet of instant noodles with two eggs, which she considered quite extravagant.
Chen Luo perked up. "Sister Yu, let's have noodles too. Beef noodles."
Ma Yu nodded and first braised the beef to make a rich broth.
Ma Yu and Mi Ling cooked at the same time.
Mi Ling was dumbfounded by the slices of richly colored, succulent beef. There had to be more than half a pot of it-five or six pounds.
Are you eating beef or beef noodles?
Who eats beef noodles like this?
Mi Ling searched her own pot and found just two bits of beef the size of rice grains.
Mi Ling didn't realize Chen Luo was deliberately targeting her. She assumed he ate whatever he had. How could he possibly have enough food to pick and choose?
Mi Ling finished cooking first, but her beef noodles immediately lost their appeal. Compared with the aroma of beef drifting from the kitchen, they really didn't smell appetizing at all.
"Serve Mi Li a bowl first," Chen Luo said.
Mi Li had no appetite. "I can't eat," she said softly.
Mi Ling clenched her hands. Now I can't eat either.
Before you continue