"It should be nearby," James Lone muttered, standing atop a clock tower, gazing down at the dense purple mist below while carefully comparing his offline map with the surrounding landmarks.

This clock tower was a key marker, the closest recognizable structure to the Wild Winds Off-Road Club.

In the age of the Purple Mist, the roads had become completely overgrown with vegetation, making long-distance travel through cities nearly impossible without relying on iconic landmarks.

James Lone stowed his phone into his dimensional storage space. Running underground for long distances had left him stifled and short of breath. While his enhanced body allowed him to breathe in low-oxygen environments, it was far from comfortable. He was determined to avoid going back underground for now.

He eyed the rooftop of a nearby building, calculating the jump.

Gravitational Warp.

His body felt weightless.

At the same time, his powerful legs—bolstered by his 200+ physical stat—exploded with force.

Boom!

In seconds, James Lone was soaring through the air in a perfect arc, landing smoothly on a rooftop over 100 meters away.

The roof was covered with leaves. Beneath the foliage, a vibrantly colored venomous snake silently slithered, its unblinking eyes fixed on James Lone.

Thud!

Before the snake could strike, a shovel materialized out of thin air and severed its head in one swift motion.

James Lone glanced down at the blood pooling under the leaves.

In his heightened perception, no ambush could escape his notice.

Perception wasn't just a survival tool in the Purple Mist—it was the key to thriving in its dangers.

To date, only the bat mutant he'd encountered had managed to obscure itself from his perception, and even then, it could only do so at a distance. Up close, it too couldn't hide.

After scanning the rooftop, he confirmed there were no other immediate threats.

The floors below housed a few survivors—ordinary people, barely clinging to life, their emaciated forms a clear sign of starvation.

Deciding to take a break, James Lone sat down. Even with his enhanced physique, running 20 kilometers underground was no small feat.

He pulled out a bottle of purified water, draining it in seconds, before retrieving a handful of Enlightenment Fruits and some roasted mutant frog meat from his storage.

Midway through his meal, a notification flashed in his mind:

[Ding! Perception upgraded to 6 stars.]

James Lone's eyes lit up with excitement. Finally! After consuming countless perception-enhancing fruits, his ability had leveled up again.

Wasting no time, he opened his status panel to review the new effects of his 6-star perception.

[Perception: 6 Stars]

You can see a target's disposition toward you:Yellow indicates neutrality.Red indicates hostility.Green indicates friendliness.The brightness of the aura reflects the target's strength.You can sense energy concentrations within a target.You can detect inanimate objects.You can hear sounds within your perception radius.Perception Radius: 200 meters.

"Double the range... 200 meters!" he exclaimed, thrilled by the massive upgrade.

But the real game-changer was the ability to hear.

This was monumental.

James Lone immediately tested it, focusing on various creatures within his perception field.

The result astonished him. The ability wasn't an overwhelming cacophony of all sounds within 200 meters. Instead, it selectively amplified the sounds of whichever creature he focused on.

In a nearby pipe, a giant cockroach made wet, crunching sounds as it feasted on its prey.

High above, a mutated dragonfly buzzed faintly as it zipped through the air.

In a room below, a dying man whispered his final words: "Xia... I'm leaving now. I won't be able to take care of you anymore..."

The addition of sound brought a new richness to James Lone's sensory world. Combined with the doubled perception radius—quadrupling the overall area—it was a staggering improvement.

James Lone couldn't suppress his grin. "Finally, 6-star perception!"

He glanced at his other abilities on the status panel.

"When will the rest of these upgrade?"

With a touch of greed, he began scrolling through his abilities.

[Current Abilities]

Perception: 6 StarsPhysical Enhancement: 6 Stars (+200 to overall physical stats)Phasing: 5 Stars (Allows phasing through solid and liquid matter. The denser the material, the greater the stamina cost. Breathing in solid or liquid matter is possible but limited.)Subspace Teleportation: 9 Stars (Max)Teleport to any location within 5,000 meters up to 12 times per day.Create three Subspace Anchors per day with no range limit.Instantly teleport to a Subspace Anchor, regardless of distance.Attach Subspace Anchors to any object.Willpower Link: 9 Stars (Max)Establish a telepathic link with any creature within 500 kilometers.Up to 100 simultaneous links.Create a shared mental space for communication.Up to 10 simultaneous shared spaces.Induce illusions or forcibly drag targets into the shared space (success and duration depend on willpower disparity).+50 Willpower.Blood Burst: 3 Stars (Temporarily boost physical stats by 100%-500%, at the cost of significant stamina.)Life Surge: 2 Stars (Consume a target's future life force to heal their current injuries. 1:100 healing-to-life-force ratio.)Water Conjuration: 4 Stars (Extract water from the surrounding environment up to 5 meters away. Increased speed consumes more stamina.)Refinement: 2 Stars (Extract the essence of metals.)Mind's Light: 9 Stars (Max)See the number of abilities a target has and gain a vague understanding of their effects.Immune to willpower-based attacks from weaker enemies.Launch mental attacks.+60 Willpower.Flexibility: 1 Star (Increases muscular and skeletal flexibility by 100%.)Gravitational Warp: 3 Stars (Manipulate the size and direction of gravity on objects you touch.)Willpower Weapon: 5 StarsForge an indestructible weapon from willpower, stored internally until fully formed.Absorb willpower fragments from defeated enemies to accelerate forging.+15 Willpower.Plant Growth: 1 Star (Accelerate the growth of plants.)

James Lone's lips curved into a confident smirk.

With 14 abilities, his arsenal had to be among the most extensive in the world—possibly even the best.

"If I can max out all of these abilities to 9 stars, I might finally be able to challenge that mysterious figure on the Moon."

The thought thrilled him, though he knew it wouldn't be easy.

Outside of his willpower-based abilities, leveling up the rest would take time, effort, and—more importantly—luck.

"For now, I'll prioritize maxing out Willpower Weapon. If I can forge a 9-star weapon, I'll be unstoppable."

Having acclimated to his upgraded perception, James Lone felt reinvigorated. Rising to his feet, he turned his gaze toward the Wild Winds Off-Road Club.

With a grin, he leapt into the purple mist.