Shirley lnr Won was ecstatic.

"This is for me?"

James Lone replied indifferently,

"Yeah, I've got plenty of these."

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!" Shirley , who had been worried about falling out of favor, finally felt relieved.

Slut! Monroe Anne glared at Shirley lnr with jealousy.

Shirley lnr ate the Enlightenment Fruit.

[Ding! Shirley lnr Won consumed 1 Enlightenment Fruit—Phasing, returning 300! They have been placed in your spatial backpack.]

[Enlightenment Fruit (Phasing): 2-star. Grants the phasing ability. Repeated consumption of the same fruit may increase the star level.]

Phasing!

James Lone's eyes lit up.

A new ability! And it's a 2-star fruit!

Shirley lnr Won instinctively sensed the new ability but didn't know how to use it.

Curious, she asked,

"Master, what does this fruit do?"

"Phasing." James Lon smiled and casually grabbed a few phasing fruits, popping them into his mouth.

The system promptly updated:

[Phasing: 2-star. You can phase your body to move through solid and liquid materials. The denser the material, the more energy consumed.]

Excited, James Lon activated the phasing ability.

He immediately felt his body shift to a semi-ethereal state, allowing him to pass through objects at will.

James Lon reached out to touch the wall, and his arm sank into it.

Then, he stepped fully into the wall and emerged in the bedroom.

"Walking through walls!" Shirley lnr exclaimed with excitement.

She tried to mimic him and successfully phased through the wall, but her face turned pale, and she was gasping for air, as though she had just run several kilometers.

"Phasing through walls is exhausting. Master, you're amazing. I can barely manage two walls at most."

Monroe Anne's jealousy burned even hotter.

This ability is perfect for escaping danger!

Clinging tightly to James Lon's arm, Monroe Anne said in a pleading tone,

"Brother... Darling! I want it too..."

James Lone smirked.

"That depends on your performance from now on."

Overjoyed, Monroe Anne quickly promised,

"Darling, I'll do my best!"

James Lone smiled.

"Don't call me Darling. Call me Master, like Shirley does."

"... Master," Monroe Anne said, her face flushed.

"Good girl." James patted her head, stroking her like a cat.

Shirley 's eyes flared with annoyance.

What a seductress!

She knelt on the floor, picked up James Lon's foot, and cradled it in her arms.

"Brother... Master, you must be tired. Let me massage your feet."

Competition really does improve service quality.

James Lone smiled in satisfaction.

"From now on, I'll reward you with a fruit every few days. But as for who gets it... heh."

The two women immediately locked eyes, their gazes sharp and competitive, as if sparks were flying between them.

"Alright, my little kittens, go play. I have some work to do." James Lon stood up and activated his phasing ability.

He felt the floor beneath his feet vanish as his body drifted downward.

To the women's perspective, James Lon's body sank through the floor until he disappeared entirely.

Phasing through the floor, James Lon descended into the room below. Halfway down, he deactivated the ability, landing softly on the 31st-floor floorboards.

"Haha! This really is a life-saving skill!" James Lon said, pleased.

After a few tests, he quickly understood the details of the phasing ability:

Movement through solids felt like walking through a swimming pool. It required effort, and denser materials consumed more energy and slowed him down. Passing through load-bearing walls, for example, was much harder than hollow bricks.

Breathing wasn't possible while inside a solid. He had to hold his breath, making prolonged phasing impractical.

He could carry objects through walls. Clothes, backpacks, and anything on his person were considered part of his body.

James Lone chuckled.

"My overall physical stats are so high that what's exhausting for Shirley lnr barely affects me. If I don't have to worry about breathing, I could phase-walk for kilometers!"

The room below Shirley lnr Won's was unoccupied.

Taking out a handful of phasing fruits, James Lone began eating them one by one.

After consuming about ten fruits, the system updated:

[Ding! Phasing upgraded to 3-star! Increased speed through solids and liquids.]

James Lon kept eating.

[Ding! Phasing upgraded to 4-star! Increased speed through solids and liquids.]

He continued.

[Ding! Phasing upgraded to 5-star! You can now breathe minimally while inside solids and liquids.]

James Lone's eyes gleamed.

"I can breathe inside solids and liquids. That means I can operate there for extended periods!"

Activating the ability, James Lon tested the changes.

Previously, moving through solids had felt like wading through thick syrup. Now, it felt more like running against a strong wind—much faster and less restrictive.

Additionally, he could breathe, though it was slightly labored, akin to breathing through an N95 mask.

But that didn't matter. The ability to breathe meant he could stay underground or within structures indefinitely, making it invaluable for escape or stealth attacks.

With over 100 phasing fruits left, James Lon decided further upgrades weren't possible and switched to eating perception fruits.

However, after consuming over a hundred, his perception ability still hadn't reached 5-star. Including previous casual consumption, he estimated he had eaten more than 200 perception fruits.

The same went for the physical enhancement fruits—progress was slow, and their effects seemed even weaker than perception fruits.

James Lone began theorizing:

"Maybe perception fruits are only 1-star, containing less 'energy,' which makes reaching 5-star harder."

"Phasing fruits, being 2-star, have more energy, which is why upgrading them to 5-star was easier."

"Or maybe my body isn't suited for perception and physical enhancement fruits but is more compatible with phasing fruits."

Deciding not to dwell on it, James Lon shifted focus.

"Time to gather supplies!"

"Now, every empty apartment in this building is mine!"

Phasing was far faster than smashing walls.

In just half an hour, he looted every unoccupied unit from the 21st floor upward, collecting an overwhelming amount of resources:

Instant noodles from brands like Master Kong, Uni-President, White Elephant, and Jinmailang—over 30 flavors in total.

A variety of sausages.

Packaged foods and drinks, including chocolate, biscuits, bread, spicy strips, duck necks, cola, beer, and more.

Frozen meats like chicken, fish, beef, lamb, and pork.

Unopened condiments like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Miscellaneous items: tissues, condoms, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, common medications, furniture, and appliances.

The total collection included enough supplies to support ten people for a year.

If he looted every unoccupied apartment in the entire complex, there would be no need to scavenge residential areas. Instead, he could head straight to large supermarkets, where the variety would be even richer.

Standing in one of the 21st-floor apartments, James Lone noted the purple mist, which had risen to knee height.

Next door was Lily's apartment. Through his perception, he saw her eating instant noodles.

She appeared reluctant to finish them, leaving half uneaten and placing the rest in the freezer.

"That woman's clueless. Freezing half-eaten noodles? They'll spoil for sure."

Pushing Lily from his mind, James Lone continued scavenging. Activating his phasing ability, he descended to the 20th floor.

This floor was completely shrouded in purple mist, thicker indoors but slightly less dense than outside.

Visually, visibility was limited to just a few meters. From the bedroom, the living room was barely visible.

However, James Lon's perception remained unaffected.

Smirking, he quickly gathered the room's supplies into his spatial storage. Then, phasing through the walls, he moved to the next apartment and repeated the process.

Systematically, he cleared the 20th floor, then moved to the 19th, 18th, and 17th floors...