The Big Dipper

After the noodles rolled around in the boiling water for a while, Lu Heng stirred them with chopsticks, scooped them out, and put them in a bowl.

The oil pan next to him wasn't idle either. He took out the cooking oil he had previously scavenged from the steamed bun shop, cut the prepared fish meat into even pieces, and waited for the oil to heat up to the right temperature before putting the pieces into the pan one by one.

The moment the fish hit the oil, fine droplets of oil sizzled and popped. He didn't rush to flip it, but patiently waited, watching the surface of the fish change from a translucent grayish-white to a light yellow, and then to a deep gold.

The aroma only wafted in later.

At first, there was only a faint umami flavor, mixed with the heat of the oil, almost imperceptible. But when the fish was fried for three minutes, the aroma suddenly became intense, as if it had been suppressed for too long and finally burst open, filling the entire Shelter with a crispy, oily, and fragrant fish aroma.

Lu Heng took a deep breath, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

Since the end times, he had eaten compressed biscuits and gnawed on dry, hard bread. This was the first time he had ever seriously fried something like this.

The fried fish is arranged around the edge of the bowl, its golden-brown surface still glistening with tiny specks of oil.

Lu Heng sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

He picked up a piece of fried fish, bit into it, and found the outer shell crispy while the fish inside was so tender it almost melted in his mouth. He chewed it a couple of times, then slurped up a mouthful of noodles; the noodles were chewy and springy, with the natural sweetness of the flour.

He paused for a moment, then picked up another piece of fish.

It's been a long time since I've had such a comfortable meal.

It wasn't the kind of eating that just fills your stomach; it was truly savoring the taste of the food itself. In the apocalypse, just surviving is a blessing, so who cares about food? But at this moment, Lu Heng suddenly realized that simply surviving and living well are indeed two different things.

Halfway through his meal, he caught a glimpse of the Furniture Puppet still standing to the side, silently tidying up the supply boxes in the corner of the Shelter.

Lu Heng paused for a moment, his chopsticks holding the noodles still.

Furniture-type Puppet... they seem to know how to cook too?

The thought flashed through his mind, and he glanced at the half-eaten bowl of noodles and the half-cold fried fish next to it.

never mind.

He shook his head and stuffed the noodles into his mouth.

I'll do it myself this time. Next time—next time I can be lazy and let it do it.

Thinking this way, he felt more relaxed, with a rare, almost luxurious sense of ease in this apocalyptic world, and he finished the noodles and fish in his bowl.

After clearing away the dishes, Lu Heng went to the Astrology Room.

He took the Nightmare Bed out of his spatial storage and placed it in a corner of the Astrology Room. The black bed stood there quietly, its surface faintly shimmering with dark patterns, like a beast that was still breathing in its sleep.

Lu Heng glanced at it but didn't move it to the bedroom.

A regular bed is enough for the bedroom. This Nightmare Bed is more suitable for the Astrology Room —he'll likely be spending a lot of time here cultivating later, saving him the trouble of going back and forth.

He sat up on the bed, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind.

The Starlight Meditation Method is now in operation.

The Astrology Room was naturally suited for cultivation. As soon as Lu Heng entered a meditative state, he felt that the air around him had changed. It wasn't that the temperature or the light had changed, but something more subtle—it was as if the entire room was coordinating with his breathing, guiding the free energy in the air towards him bit by bit.

Starlight-like energy converged from all directions, slowly and continuously seeping into his body, flowing, settling, and accumulating in his meridians.

Lu Heng's consciousness began to sink.

At first, he could still feel the walls of the Astrology Room, the touch of the Nightmare Bed, and the rhythm of his own breathing. But as his cultivation deepened, these sensations faded away layer by layer, like ripples spreading out on the surface of water before returning to calm.

The sound disappeared.

The light disappeared.

The temperature disappeared.

His sense of time became blurred. He didn't know how long he had been sitting; it could have been a quarter of an hour or an hour. His consciousness sank into a boundless void, surrounded only by slowly flowing starlight energy, like a quiet river.

Then, in a split second, the void cracked open.

It wasn't shattering, but rather like a curtain being lifted— Lu Heng's consciousness suddenly pierced upwards, as if surfacing from the deep sea, and his vision suddenly opened up.

He "saw" the starry sky.

It wasn't the starry sky seen through a window, nor the starry sky seen by looking up, but a starry sky where one was surrounded by countless constellations. Each constellation floated deep within his consciousness, carrying its own unique aura, like silent hearts beating.

Some are fiery, some are icy. Some are restless, some are calm. Some radiate violent energy fluctuations, while others are as gentle as a pool of water.

They are calling to him.

It wasn't a sound, but a more instinctive pull—as if every star was reaching out to him, saying: Choose me.

Lu Heng didn't deliberately analyze it, nor did he try to use reason to judge which zodiac sign was better. He simply relaxed his mind and let his instincts guide him.

Which zodiac sign brings him the strongest joy?

Which zodiac sign resonates most naturally with him?

His consciousness drifted slowly among the stars, passing over constellations and feeling waves of attraction, strong or weak. Some constellations made him frown slightly, while others pleased him, but none truly made him stop.

Until a certain moment--

A sudden surge of energy seized his consciousness.

It wasn't a violent tug, but a joy that welled up from the depths of the soul. It was like walking a very, very long way and suddenly seeing the lights at your doorstep. That joy wasn't excitement or agitation, but a deep, instinctive, and indistinguishable sense of belonging.

Lu Heng's consciousness rushed forward without hesitation.

Both sides sense and confirm each other.

His zodiac sign is choosing him, and he is choosing his zodiac sign.

The moment the resonance was achieved, a massive flow of information poured directly into his mind.

A name emerged--

The Big Dipper.

Lu Heng was slightly jolted out of his deep meditation, a hint of surprise surfacing in his consciousness.

He was a complete astronomical illiterate; if you asked him to identify constellations, he probably wouldn't recognize any except for the Big Dipper. But the name "Big Dipper" was incredibly famous.

It's so famous that even if you know nothing about astronomy, you can't possibly not know its name.

Lu Heng did not rush to exit the meditation, but continued to immerse himself in the depths of his consciousness, searching for the information flooding into his mind.

The Big Dipper has seven stars.

After deep binding, each unlocked star will gradually reveal its corresponding special energy. Seven stars, seven unlocks, seven layers of amplification.

Once a constellation is associated with a particular zodiac sign, the Starlight Meditation Method itself will be imprinted with the style of that constellation.

Lu Heng sensed the aura emanating from the Big Dipper and raised his eyebrows slightly.

That wasn't a gentle, nourishing, protective aura.

It was a sharp, decisive, and murderous force.

Killing and judgment.

As the energy circulated within him, it was no longer in the slow, accumulating state of before, but rather carried a sharp edge that could break through obstacles and sever everything. It was like a knife slowly drawn from its sheath, its cold light gleaming.

Lu Heng silently absorbed this style, and after a long while, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Slaughter and violence.

He looked down at his hands.

In the apocalypse, those who survive are never those who are gentle.

This zodiac sign's temperament and his path are very compatible.

Lu Heng slowly opened his eyes.

Everything seemed normal in the Astrology Room; the Nightmare Bed rested quietly on him, and there wasn't a sound around him. But he knew something was different.

His Starlight Meditation Method was no longer just about accumulating energy.

It has gained direction, sharpness, and a murderous aura.

And the first star of the Big Dipper was slowly lighting up deep within his consciousness.