James Lon walked into the master bedroom.

This was a three-bedroom apartment that he shared with two female roommates. James had rented the smallest and cheapest room.

The two women, Linda and Snown, were both at work when the Purple Mist descended and ended up trapped at their offices.

James had no qualms about claiming their belongings as his own.

This particular room belonged to Linda.

Linda wasn't especially attractive, but she was a makeup expert. Once made up, she looked like an entirely different person—transformed from a 5/10 to a 9/10.

Linda frequently brought men home, her private life a chaotic mess. Her nighttime activities often caused disturbances, leading to constant conflicts with the other roommate, Snown, who was much colder and more reserved.

James didn't care. He worked the night shift anyway and was rarely home to hear their arguments.

As expected, he found some birth control pills in Linda's bedside drawer. He pulled out two and handed them to Shirley Inr.

"Take these."

Shirley hesitated, frightened.

"What are these?"

"Birth control pills," James replied indifferently. "You don't want to get pregnant in this situation, do you?"

Shirley, overwhelmed with shame, swallowed the pills with some purified water.

[Ding! Shirley Inr consumed two pills. 400 pills have been returned and placed in the spatial backpack.]

So it works with medication too? As long as it's consumable?

James grabbed a new bag of laundry detergent and ordered,

"Go wash my dirty clothes."

Shirley didn't dare refuse and obediently took the detergent into the bathroom.

James watched her quietly.

Shirley opened the detergent and began washing his clothes.

However, no system notification sounded.

Additionally, Shirley was using tap water for the laundry, but there was no notification about the water being returned either.

Does it only work with things that are eaten?

The system's description had stated: "The host will receive a return of resources consumed by female slaves."

Then why didn't it specify 'food'?

James pondered this for a moment but couldn't figure it out. The system's intricacies would take time to uncover.

He lay down on the sofa and began scrolling through videos on his phone while Shirley continued doing the laundry.

Even a beauty isn't going to freeload. If you want food, you have to work for it.

The internet remained filled with bad news.

More and more videos of ground-level exploration were being uploaded.

Plants worldwide had grown to monstrous sizes. Ordinary lawns had sprouted into towering grass, taller than people in some cities.

Stadium fields now resembled cornfields.

Hidden within these massive plants were countless giant insects, making the environment extremely dangerous.

Suddenly, James came across a video of an ability user.

A middle-aged man with an honest-looking face demonstrated his lightning ability on camera.

As he brought his fingers together, sparks of electricity danced between them.

James watched with envy.

At the end of the video, the man said,

"There's a wild plant near my house with a black fruit that looks like Nephelium. I was starving yesterday and decided to eat it. That's how I got this lightning ability. If you find black Nephelium, you might want to try it."

The video only had a few hundred views, but the comments were flooded with skepticism:

"Is this for real?"

"This guy is up to no good!"

"Black Nephelium? Sounds like poison."

"With all the plant mutations, who would dare eat that stuff?"

Wild plants growing black Nephelium?

James turned to look at his windowsill.

There, on his potted succulent, hung two black Nephelium fruits.

Does eating this really grant lightning abilities?

James wasn't about to try it himself.

Who knew what that man's intentions were?

In this apocalyptic world, human nature had become unpredictable, with rumors running rampant.

Even if the man was lying, no one could hold him accountable.

Besides, James wasn't sure if his Nephelium was the same as the one in the video.

At that moment, his phone displayed a notification:

"This video has been removed for violating platform rules."

Huh?

This unusual response made James believe the video a bit more.

That level of censorship feels deliberate. Could the government be hiding something?

James narrowed his eyes in thought.

After a moment, he put on rubber gloves and carefully picked one of the black Nephelium fruits from his plant.

Placing it in a bowl, he cautiously removed his gloves and threw them out the window. Then, carrying the bowl, he walked into the bathroom.

Shirley was busy scrubbing clothes.

James placed the bowl in front of her and said,

"Eat this."

If it was poisonous, Shirley would be the one to die.

In an apocalypse, beautiful women were plentiful. James wouldn't lose sleep over her.

Shirley stared at the black fruit in terror.

"What... what is this?"

"Eat it," James said flatly.

Shirley shook her head and stepped back.

"I'm not eating that!"

James pulled out his knife and said coldly,

"I said, eat it."

Pale-faced, Shirley trembled as she picked up the fruit.

The black Nephelium looked eerie and unnatural. She didn't want to eat it, but the gleaming knife left her no choice.

With resignation, she ate the fruit.

[Ding! Shirley Inr consumed 1 Enlightenment Fruit (Perception). 200 fruits have been returned and placed in the spatial backpack.]

[Enlightenment Fruit (Perception): 1-star. Grants perception ability upon consumption. Repeated consumption may increase star level.]

James was overjoyed.

Ability fruits! They're real!

The man hadn't been lying!

However, the ability granted by this fruit seemed different—it was a perception ability rather than lightning.

So... the abilities must be random for each fruit.

"What do you feel?" James asked.

Shirley looked dazed before hesitantly replying,

"I... I think I can see a faint light around you. It's pale yellow. What does it mean?"

It works! James laughed.

"This is an ability fruit. Eating it gives you powers."

"An ability fruit?" Shirley was shocked.

"Abilities come from eating fruits?"

Abilities had been a hot topic online.

So that's the secret?

Why would he give this to me? It must be precious.

For a moment, Shirley felt touched.

Though James had been rough earlier, maybe he wasn't all bad after all.

"Thank you."

James extended his hand, and another black Nephelium appeared.

"I have plenty of these. Work hard, and I might reward you with more. Do you feel anything else?"

Shirley nodded gratefully.

"Using this ability is exhausting. I can't maintain it for long. I need to turn it off."

She exhaled deeply, appearing to deactivate the ability. From the outside, there was no visible change.

It drains stamina too? James mused.

He peeled the black Nephelium and ate the flesh himself.

The fruit was sweet and tangy, with a delicious flavor.

Boom!

James felt a barrier in his mind shatter.

The world around him seemed to transform.

Greens were greener, reds were redder.

He looked outside and noticed details he hadn't before—it was like upgrading from 480p to 4K.

When he looked at Shirley, a faint red glow surrounded her.

Looking at his own body, he saw a green glow, slightly brighter than Shirley's.

What do these colors mean?

The system answered:

[Perception: 1-star. Allows you to see a target's disposition toward you. Yellow indicates neutrality, red indicates hostility, and green indicates friendliness. Brightness reflects vitality. Perception range: 2 meters.]

James was thrilled.

This is an amazing skill! I can see if someone harbors ill intentions!

Judging by Shirley's glow, she clearly still resented him.

He also felt his stamina draining rapidly, as though sprinting at full speed.

At most, he could maintain the ability for a few minutes.

James deactivated the perception ability and ate another black Nephelium.

The system had said repeated consumption could upgrade the star level.

After consuming several fruits, there was no immediate change.

By the twelfth fruit, however, he felt his vision sharpen significantly.

[Ding! Perception upgraded to 2-star! Range increased to 5 meters.]