"This ability has its limitations," James Lone thought. "The success rate and duration depend on my Willpower. Although I don't know the exact ratio, it seems that unless I have overwhelming Willpower, it will be very difficult to drag enemies into the Consciousness Space."

James narrowed his eyes. There was an enemy perfectly suited for testing this ability: The mutated frog.

Without activating 500% Blood Burst, can I defeat it?

James opened his stats panel.

At this moment, he was already extremely powerful:

[Perception: 5 stars]

You can see how targets feel toward you: yellow for neutral, red for hostile, green for friendly.The brightness represents the target's strength.You can sense energy focal points inside targets.You can sense inanimate objects.Perception range: 100 meters.

[Constitution Enhancement: 4 stars]

Comprehensive Constitution +80.

[Phasing: 5 stars]

You can phase your body, passing through solids and liquids. The denser the solid, the greater the stamina consumption.You can breathe while inside solids or liquids, though barely.

[Subspace Travel: 9 stars (maxed, no further upgrades possible)]

You can open subspace portals to any location within 5000 meters, up to 12 times daily.You can create subspace anchors without range limits, up to 3 times daily, maintaining up to 3 anchors at once.You can teleport directly to an anchor, ignoring distance.You can attach subspace anchors to any object.

[Will Link: 8 stars]

Establish a Will Link with any creature in your line of sight to communicate mentally.Range: 200 kilometers.Max simultaneous Will Links: 30.Create up to 3 Consciousness Spaces to pull linked individuals in for communication.You can forcibly pull targets into a Consciousness Space; success rate and duration depend on the Willpower difference.+30 Willpower.

[Blood Burst: 3 stars]

Consume a large amount of stamina to temporarily increase Comprehensive Constitution by 100%-500%. The greater the boost, the more stamina consumed.

Attributes Panel:

Host: James LoneComprehensive Constitution: 90 (Average adult: 10)Willpower: 40 (Average adult: 10)

It's time to kill that mutated frog.

James decided to rest first, as the experimentation with the Consciousness Space had consumed a fair amount of mental energy. He lay back down to sleep.

6:00 AM

James Lone opened his eyes, fully refreshed and brimming with energy. The consumed mental energy had completely recovered!

He smiled as he walked into the living room, where the women were already awake.

With no electricity and nothing else to entertain them at night, they tended to go to bed early, which meant they woke up early too.

Monroe Anne asked gently, "Master, what would you like for breakfast?"

Her tone carried a hint of melancholy—James hadn't sought her company for days now. With more women around, she was feeling increasingly pressured.

"Something simple—fried eggs, milk, and bread will do. I'll make something better for lunch today," James replied casually.

"Okay," Monroe Anne said obediently. She had no idea what James planned for lunch but began preparing breakfast with food from the freezer.

Although there was no electricity, James had brought back plenty of ice from the supermarket. With the fridge's insulation, the ice could last for days without melting.

Each day, James would take some food out of storage and put it in the freezer for the women to use. It was far more convenient than personally preparing every meal.

After finishing breakfast, James immediately got to work.

He phased through the layers of floors and quickly descended the building.

Frog meat is edible... but is mutated frog meat safe to eat? And does it have any benefits?

Meanwhile, Teresa Taylor...

Teresa was munching on dry instant noodles, savoring the rare treat. She had eaten three blocks of noodles and washed them down with purified water, swallowing with difficulty.

"Burp... So full!"

It had been days since she had eaten so much food. If it weren't for looting T-bag's stash, she wouldn't have dared to indulge like this.

Her thoughts drifted to the rabbit from yesterday. If that damned mutated frog hadn't ambushed me, I'd be eating roasted rabbit right now!

She swallowed a lump in her throat at the thought. "And I wasted a bullet on it!"

Finishing the purified water, Teresa turned the bottle upside down, letting the last drops drip out as she stuck out her tongue to catch them. Not a single drop was wasted—clean water was becoming increasingly scarce.

I wonder how much more food James Lone has... would he lend me some?

Teresa sighed. She had nothing to offer in exchange, so she reluctantly let go of the idea.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came at the door.

Teresa clapped her hands clean and stood up. "Come in."

Mike Brown walked in, nibbling on a piece of bread. "Leader, everyone's asking—when are we leaving?"

Teresa hesitated.

She had checked downstairs early that morning, and that damned mutated frog was still lying in the lobby!

She couldn't understand why it was fixated on her. I didn't kill your parents, why are you targeting me?!

The biggest problem now was the mutated frog.

She could leave by jumping from the upper floors—the frog couldn't stop her. But what about the other survivors?

The mutated frog would never let her take everyone else away.

She couldn't just abandon them either. If she left, the survivors would be trapped in the building, left to die.

Teresa would never allow herself to do something like that.

"Let's wait a bit longer," she said reluctantly.

Should I ask James Lone for help?

Thinking of James Lone, she couldn't help but recall the events of the previous day. Her face flushed slightly.

At the same time, she felt a pang of anger. That bastard! That scumbag! I didn't feel a thing, and my first time is gone just like that!

But hate? Not quite.

James Lone was, admittedly, generous. That ability fruit he gave her was priceless—a treasure money couldn't buy.

In the end, she couldn't figure out her feelings toward him.

Teresa hesitated before saying, "We'll wait one more day. If the frog is still downstairs tomorrow, I'll try to lure it away."

If she couldn't resolve it by then, she'd have no choice but to ask James Lone for help.

With his phasing ability, James Lone could probably lure the frog away safely.

Mike Brown smiled with relief.

Truthfully, he didn't want to go to the TV station aid point.

For one, the journey was too dangerous.

For another, after chatting with the survivors of Sunny Garden Tower, he learned that none of them had ever heard of the TV station aid point.

This made him suspicious.

But he couldn't convince Teresa Taylor, who was too stubborn to listen.

Frog, good job! Stay downstairs forever, please!

After Mike left, Teresa closed her eyes and continued practicing her new perception ability.

The ability was incredibly useful.

Thanks to... James Lone.

Once again, Teresa's thoughts wandered to him.

New York Film Academy: Residential Area, Building 16

This was the last refuge for survivors in the residential area, housing over 200 people barely hanging on.

Building 16 was built on a small hill and had 20 floors. Its elevated location allowed the 18th floor and above to rise above the purple mist.

Room 1803

Lulia Smith sat nervously at her desk, staring at the floor.

The purple mist had risen higher, now reaching the 18th floor.

She wanted to move to the upper floors, but they were occupied by school leaders and a few powerful ability users—she didn't have the qualifications to live there.

If not for her healing ability and her position as an associate professor, she wouldn't even be on the 18th floor.

Sigh... What should I do?

Lulia propped her delicate face on her hands, looking troubled.

She recalled a rumor she had overheard: apparently, an invisible monster had appeared in the school, devouring survivors without a trace. Every day, people who ventured out were dragged away, never to return.

No one had seen what the creature looked like.

A shiver ran down her spine. Someone, please save me!

Meanwhile, James Lone arrived just a few meters below the mutated frog.

The frog sensed him and let out a deep croak, a clear warning.

James stood fearlessly, his gaze cold and unwavering.

"First, 100% Blood Burst!"

In an instant, his Perception revealed his entire body radiating a dazzling glow.

Come on!

Let's fight!

Gripping a length of rebar, James Lone charged out of the ground, ready for battle.