Fu Hu's ability

Another two days passed in a flash.

They kept repeating the work of the previous two days.

Clearing out zombies, counting residents, and distributing supplies.

In between, the two old men, Sun Ya and Wei De, took a few others along to learn how to hot-wire cars and drive.

The job of hunting zombies had passed from Su Jin to Cheng Du.

They had too little time left, so throwing Cheng Du into actual combat against zombies was the best choice.

His fire-control ability really was incredibly powerful.

Zombies could only be killed by a piercing wound to the heart.

Although Cheng Du's fire attacks couldn't kill them outright, they seemed to severely impair the zombies' mobility.

Ordinary flames didn't greatly affect a zombie's movements over a short period.

But flames generated through an ability seemed to deal extra damage, noticeably triggering a pain response in the zombies.

Then a single finishing blow could kill them.

They had discovered two ways to use it so far. The first was to wrap his body in flames, which could even extend to his weapon, and fight at close quarters.

The other was to breathe fire, attacking directly from a distance.

Both were quite powerful, but compared with Su Jin, Cheng Du's staying power in combat left a lot to be desired.

However, breathing fire apparently wasn't limited to his mouth. Any opening in his body that could release gas seemed to work.

Cheng Du eagerly invited Su Jin to watch a demonstration and spar with him.

But Su Jin politely declined every time... he was afraid Cheng Du would blast shit all over him.

Another zombie fell to the ground.

Cheng Du stepped sideways to make room behind him.

Su Jin crouched down and deftly processed the zombie.

He was the quickest at this kind of work. Disgusting as it was, he had to keep handling it himself to save time.

With the zombie's chest opened, Su Jin nervously pushed its heart aside.

Seeing half of a fleshy ball peeking out beneath the heart, his pupils contracted, and he clenched his fist hard!

"Yes!"

Finally found one!

At last, all three of them would be fully equipped before the operation. They were leaving the day after tomorrow, giving Fu Hu a day to awaken and get used to his ability.

Putting away the Flesh Ball, Su Jin stood and looked back at the others. "All right, let's keep working. There aren't many households left. We'll finish them all today."

Evening arrived.

Once again, all eight gathered for their "cult ritual."

There wasn't much talk this time. Fu Hu swallowed, then reached out and cupped the Flesh Ball in his hands.

Su Jin pierced it with his knife, rupturing the Flesh Ball.

Fu Hu immediately lost consciousness. Fortunately, Cheng Du caught him from behind and dragged him straight onto the sofa to sleep.

Su Jin waved everyone else away, keeping only the two old men, Sun Ya and Wei De.

After thinking for a while, Su Jin said, "We're leaving the day after tomorrow. Is there anything else we need to add?"

Sun Ya handed him a folded sheet of paper and a medicine box. "Here are the detailed instructions and Old Wei's medicine box. Take them and have a look. While you were out today, Old Wei and I checked the car and filled the tank for you."

"We made two improvised time bombs. They're both on the fourth floor. You'll have to move those yourself. Our old arms and legs really aren't up to it."

"Oh, and just strap the gas cylinder into the back. We smashed out the rear window for you. When you need to, put someone in the back seat to throw the bombs."

Sun Ya paused. "By the way, Xiao Li, I've been meaning to ask you... what did you tell them about this? None of them seem particularly aware of the danger."

Su Jin smiled. "I played it down for the women. I just said I was taking a few people to look for supplies nearby and stock up on medicine, and that we wouldn't go far."

"As for Old Fu and Cheng Du, I told them we were going to the medical university to retrieve some things. There might be risks, but they'd be very useful in the future. Old Fu didn't say much. His wife and child are here, after all, so he has to step up. Cheng Du has his new ability now and is itching to try it out."

"Cheng Du seems a little rash. Keep him in line so nothing goes wrong," Sun Ya sighed. "I've been thinking these past few days, and we can't keep hiding it forever. Nobody in this household is incapable of grasping the stakes, and they need to stay alert too. Once you successfully bring the stuff back tomorrow, let's find a chance to tell them. After all, we'll need to split into plenty of households and run experiments one by one. They need to know and be on their guard."

"Even in the worst case, if word leaks after we've formed a larger organization, having three powerful ability users will be enough to keep things under control."

Su Jin nodded. "That's what I think too. The more people develop abilities, the more stable our base will be. Anyway, let's talk again after I get back from the mission the day after tomorrow."

"Remember everything we've given you. Be careful, and don't take any chances... everyone is counting on you."

"Don't worry. You two should get some rest too."

At the first dim light of dawn, Fu Hu rose from the sofa in a daze.

He wasn't alarmed to find seven people staring at him. After all, he'd already watched this happen twice.

Rubbing his eyes, he asked, "How long was I asleep... what time is it?"

"Forget the time. Hurry up and see what ability you have."

Hearing that, Fu Hu immediately perked up and sat straight.

He blinked, concentrating on sensing anything unusual.

After a dozen or so seconds, Fu Hu suddenly exclaimed in delight, "Mm... yes, yes, yes, I can definitely feel something! It's like a current of energy, and I can control it."

"Try directing that energy to a part of your body," Cheng Du instructed from beside him.

Su Jin said nothing. He was different from those two. His ability was entirely passive, changing only his "base stats."

Fu Hu held out both arms to inspect them.

Everyone gathered around to look.

"Nothing's changed," Cheng Du said, puzzled.

"No, something has. Try touching it."

Cheng Du reached out and pressed Fu Hu's arm, immediately exclaiming, "Damn, an iron arm!"

Seeing that, Su Jin picked up a cup from the table and tapped it against Fu Hu's arm, producing a clear ringing sound.

"Hardening?"

Considering the state of his body, Fu Hu reached out and took the cup from Su Jin.

With a gentle squeeze, he shattered it into several pieces.

Apparently unsatisfied with crushing the cup, he got up and walked to the corner, picking up the rarely used ninety-pound compound bow.

As easily as drawing a slingshot, he drew the compound bow a dozen or so times before putting it down and returning to the sofa.

Delight appeared in Su Jin's eyes.

That bow couldn't measure Fu Hu's limit, and he drew it so effortlessly that his strength must have increased dramatically.

"I haven't just gotten harder. I'm a lot stronger too." Fu Hu stood and moved his body around. "But other than that, I don't think there's anything else."

"Can you only use this hardening ability on your arms?" Su Jin asked.

Fu Hu shook his head. "I can use it anywhere on my body, but covering my whole body is difficult. There's a limit to how much I can cover at once. About the area of both my arms."

"Oh-ho, that's more than enough!" Cheng Du said, pressing his lips together.

At those words, Su Jin and the other men instantly shifted their gazes to one particular spot on Fu Hu's body!

"You're in luck... Wan," Mrs. Liu whispered into Zhang Wan's ear.

"Oh, get lost!"

After saying that, Zhang Wan reached out and nudged her daughter aside, the corners of her mouth lifting wildly as she struggled to press them down.