James Lone was enjoying breakfast when he suddenly frowned and set down his chopsticks, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Monroe looked at him with concern. "Master, is something wrong with the food?"

James chuckled lightly. "It's delicious; I'll be back in a moment."

With that, he crossed the cabin towards Wot.

...

Wot was running for his life.

But being older, his legs quickly grew heavy, and each breath became laborious as he slowed down.

Before long, that group of survivors caught up to him.

They surrounded Wot, their expressions twisted into cruel grins.

"Old man, keep running! Let's see how far you can go!"

Wot's heart sank; he nervously pulled out the ability fruit he had found and shouted, "Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll crush it—no one will get any!"

The group froze in surprise.

The burly leader stepped forward, fuming, "If you dare crush that ability fruit, I'll peel your skin off!"

Wot quickly replied, "I can give you the ability fruit, but you must promise not to kill me."

He had no intention of giving it up; he was just stalling for time, hoping James Lone would come to rescue him.

Having lived under James Lone's protection for a while, Wot had begun to suspect that James possessed long-range monitoring abilities.

He wasn't exactly sure how they worked, but he felt confident that if he encountered danger, James would pick up on it.

The burly man replied urgently, "Fine, I swear I won't kill you! Just hand over the ability fruit, and I'll make sure you get out alive!"

The others exchanged looks of discontent.

"Why should it be just you?" "We want it too!"

The group was huddled together for warmth and survival.

When faced with a massive opportunity, schisms among them began to appear.

The reason the burly man was in charge was his supportive ability, which extended the shelf life of food supplies.

Now that there was an additional ability fruit, it should have been time to share it among the group, right?

Wot, being cunning, sensed the discord among the group and declared, "No way! All seven of you need to guarantee my safety!"

The burly man, realizing the others were against his claim, snapped, "Why the hell do we need to promise you anything?! Just give me that fruit; what do I care about an old man?"

Wot shook his head, adamant. "No! You all have to assure me that I won't die! I've lived this long, and I'm not ready to go yet!"

The burly man seethed with rage, wishing he could tear Wot apart, but unable to make a move while the ability fruit was still in hand.

Who could say if crushing that fruit would nullify its effects?

Feigning indifference, he turned to the others. "Come on, guys, give the old man some assurance; this is such a hassle."

The group exchanged uncertain looks, falling silent.

The burly man's frustration peaked. "Damn it! Speak up already! Don't waste time; what if someone else comes over?"

Silence reigned as the others hesitated.

The burly man growled, "I knew you were all ungrateful wolves! Without my abilities, you'd all be dead by now!"

The others bristled with anger but said nothing in response.

A man with slanted eyes suddenly flashed a sly grin and chimed in, "Gold Brother, you already have one ability; it's time to share that fruit with everyone!"

The burly man fumed. "That's bullshit! I contribute the most to the group; of course, I should be the one to eat it! A second ability would benefit everyone!"

The slanted-eyed man remained dismissive, yet feigned sincerity as he added, "Come on, Gold Brother. You always say using your powers is exhausting. If it's so tiring with one ability, how will you handle a second? What if you can't keep up? Isn't that a waste of an ability fruit?"

The burly man paused, feeling the heat of the argument.

He often used that excuse to evade heavy and dangerous tasks.

Now that the slanted-eyed man turned it against him, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Look, this ability fruit should go to someone else. How about Song Ze? He used to be training at a martial arts academy, he's got the best physique—we should let him have it!"

He cunningly directed their focus toward Song Ze.

Unaware this was a trap, Song Ze grinned widely and said eagerly, "Don't worry! If I gain this power, I'll make sure to lead the team alongside Gold Brother!"

The burly man immediately glared at Song Ze, convinced he was scheming against him.

The others exchanged anxious looks, each with their own motives.

The group of seven quickly devolved into bickering.

Just then, James Lone emerged calmly from the purple mist, stepping forward to meet Wot.

Wot felt a rush of relief as his worries melted away, quickly presenting the ability fruit to James like it was a hot potato.

"Mr. Lone, I found this fruit in the woods! I was hoping to bring it to you, but then they set their sights on me!"

James took the Enlightenment fruit and glanced at Wot.

The pure green glow that surrounded Wot radiated friendship.

James noted this sincerity, raising his trust in him further.

Wot had proven his loyalty numerous times; he was definitely suitable for a core team member.

James deliberately pretended to pocket the ability fruit, actually placing it in his spatial storage, smiling as he said, "Doctor Wot, come join us for breakfast in the RV in a bit."

Wot's heart soared, knowing James had fully accepted him now.

He realized he had made the right gamble.

The seven survivors, however, were less pleased.

Seeing the ability fruit change hands, they quickly abandoned their infighting and turned their hostility outward.

They brandished their weapons, shouting, "Hey! Where did you get that?" "Hand over that ability fruit, or we'll make sure you don't live!" "Damn it! Hand over the ability fruit now!" "That old man stole our ability fruit; what right do you have to take it?"

James Lone was unfazed, calmly focusing on the burly man among the group. "What's your ability?"

Using his mind's eye, James studied the ability aura surrounding the burly man.

It was a strange mix of powers—seemingly a support ability but also resembling a combat ability. This was intriguing, and James wished to learn more.

The burly man quickly responded, "If you hand over that ability fruit, I'll tell you what my ability is."

James slowly narrowed his eyes, looking at him intently before saying, "Alright."

He feigned reaching into his pocket, instead pulling out a Life Activation fruit from his spatial storage.

The new ability fruit could not be given up, as losing it would be too regrettable.

However, James had an abundance of Life Activation fruits, which held little real value for him.

The burly man beamed, reaching out eagerly.

But James withdrew his hand, challenging him, "You still haven't told me what your ability is."

The burly man's gaze fixated hungrily on the Life Activation fruit in James's hand, but he merely replied nonchalantly, "I can extend the shelf life of food."

The others looked anxiously at James Lone, especially Song Ze, whose eyes widened in desperation as he saw the precious fruit disappearing from his grasp.

He felt trapped, searching for a way out, glances darting toward the slanted-eyed man for help.

The slanted-eyed man, however, had already begun to back away into the shadows of the group.

With a sharp eye, he observed that this young man exuded good health, with clean skin and attire, suggesting something amiss.

He clearly hadn't experienced hunger!

He had the leisure to maintain his appearance!

This guy was undoubtedly a powerful superhuman!