Delwen Dowlin stared at James Lone for a long moment, but James remained still, quietly seated.

Unable to hold back, Delwen finally shouted, "Hey! Kid! Were you captured and brought here too?"

James ignored him, continuing to accelerate his absorption of Qi.

He had observed Delwen Dowlin long enough, both in subspace and underground, to confirm that the man posed no threat to him.

Delwen's incredible speed might be difficult for others to handle, but to James Lone, it was nothing more than flashy theatrics.

Delwen lacked strength—he was all speed and no power. Even if James stood still and let him attack, his blows wouldn't leave a scratch.

And could speed really outmatch consciousness? Will Link was a perfect counter to such abilities.

James had no intention of killing Delwen Dowlin yet.

The tentacle monster consumed one person every so often. The more people remained alive, the more time James had to practice his breathing technique.

After all, while James was confident he could escape, he wasn't entirely sure he could defeat the monster.

Its brightness, as perceived through his abilities, was only slightly weaker than the giant orange cat from the Sam's Club plaza. Who knew what other abilities it might possess?

And frankly, James didn't want to find out.

His plan was simple: practice as much as possible, and when the survivors were all gone, take Winnie Morgan and leave.

Delwen Dowlin grew irritated but refrained from attacking. Beneath his violent exterior, he was cautious by nature.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have tolerated Doris García for so long before taking action.

Delwen gave a signal with his eyes, and one of his men stepped forward, pointing at James and shouting, "Hey, kid! Delwen's talking to you! Are you deaf or just playing dumb?!"

Before he could finish, James suddenly extended his hand.

Slap!

The man was sent flying several meters, half his teeth knocked out. His cheek swelled instantly, blood trickling from his mouth as he collapsed unconscious.

Delwen's men stumbled backward in shock.

"Holy crap! He's a strength ability user!" "This guy's got serious power!"

Even Winnie Morgan and the other survivors tensed up, realizing this mysterious young man was another ability user.

No wonder he had managed to survive in the monster's lair.

Delwen's eyes grew cold, but he didn't make a move. Instead, he sneered, "A strength ability user, huh? Not bad. I like you. Join me, and I'll make sure you're taken care of."

James cast him a disinterested glance, then closed his eyes and resumed his breathing practice.

Delwen stifled his anger, his arrogance keeping him from acting rashly.

In his mind, he had already figured James out.

He's just a muscle-bound brute!

Compared to Delwen's incredible speed, brute strength was nothing.

Speed is king. With speed, I can attack or retreat at will. No one can touch me.

But now wasn't the time to strike.

"The real problem is this damn tentacle monster," Delwen muttered under his breath, glancing nervously at the creature on the ceiling.

Meanwhile, James Lone continued to monitor everyone with his Perception while rapidly practicing his breathing technique.

Within just five minutes, he felt the "ginger" in his body fill completely.

As I thought—I can absorb this Qi!

James was overjoyed.

On the rooftop earlier, it had taken him half an hour to fill his reserves.

Now, in the presence of the tentacle monster, the process was six times faster.

Excited, James began experimenting.

He released the Qi from his ginger, feeling a wave of heat spread through his body. Even without moving, a significant amount of Qi was consumed.

He repeated the process twelve times, draining his Qi reserves completely.

By cycling between filling and releasing his Qi, James noticed his ginger growing rapidly in size.

His Qi capacity had increased, allowing him to perform Phantom Maneuvers up to 15 times in a row.

Excellent! Let's keep going!

Time passed slowly.

The tension in the room grew heavier with every second.

Burkitt's earlier words weighed like a stone on everyone's hearts.

Suddenly, one of the monster's tentacles shot toward Delwen Dowlin's group.

"Move!" Delwen shouted, activating his ability and darting several meters away in an instant.

The others scattered in panic, ducking and covering their heads.

Reo Turner wasn't quick enough.

A tentacle wrapped around him and pulled him into the air.

"No! Help me! Someone help me!" Reo screamed, struggling wildly.

He punched the tentacle with all his strength, but his fist became stuck in its sticky surface, immobilized.

"Help! Help me!"

His cries grew more desperate, but his efforts were futile.

Under the horrified gazes of the survivors, Reo was wrapped in a sticky cocoon and hung next to Reed, who was already unconscious.

Reo's eyes widened in terror as he saw Reed's state.

In just over an hour, Reed's legs had melted into a reddish liquid, flesh peeling away strip by strip, dripping into the bottom of the cocoon.

"No! No!" Reo screamed, his voice high-pitched and shrill.

Delwen Dowlin's face turned ashen as he watched.

The other survivors were paralyzed with fear.

James Lone, however, remained calm, observing everything with quiet detachment.

The tentacle's speed was impressive, but James's reflexes, enhanced by his physique, allowed him to keep up.

And if he couldn't dodge, he could always use Phasing to escape.

For now, he focused on his breathing technique.

In just over an hour, he had cycled through his Qi reserves over a dozen times.

His "ginger" had doubled in size, and he could now perform Phantom Maneuvers 30 times in a row.

The ginger had transformed—it no longer resembled a root but a miniature tree.

Roots, a trunk, branches, and leaves had all grown, glowing with a vibrant green light that exuded an aura of vitality.

Small fruits had also begun to sprout on the tree.

They varied in size, color, and shape.

James counted a total of seven fruits.

Seven? Why seven? Seven dwarves? Seven Dragon Balls?

Confused, James considered the possibilities.

Could they be related to my abilities?

He currently had seven abilities: Perception, Physique Enhancement, Phasing, Subspace Teleportation, Will Link, Vital Burst, and Life Activation.

Is this a tree of abilities?

If I gain a new ability, will it grow another fruit?

James could only speculate.

Purple mist, enlightenment fruits, rapid evolution of plants and animals, the "tree of abilities," the disappearance of higher powers...

And I even got a system on top of it all.

"It's getting stranger by the day," James muttered, glancing at the translucent tentacle monster above him.

At that moment, Winnie Morgan and three other survivors approached.

James turned to look at them.

All four had "ginger" within their bodies, indicating they were ability users.

Three of them, like James, had green ginger.

Winnie Morgan's ginger, however, was blue.

So far, James had discovered four colors of ginger: green, blue, gold, and gray.

Green was the most common, followed by blue.

Gold had appeared only once, in the bald man James encountered at the Sam's Club plaza.

Gray had also appeared once, in Teresa Taylor.

Interestingly, the strength of animals didn't necessarily correlate with ginger.

The mutated frog at Sunshine Gardens had a blue ginger.

Many other mutated animals had no ginger at all.

For example, the giant orange cat had no ginger but was extraordinarily strong.

Then there was 'Byakuga n', the husky. When James first encountered it, it had no ginger, yet it had clearly undergone some kind of evolution.

Later, after eating an enlightenment fruit, 'Byakuga n' developed green ginger and gained an ability.

This suggested that animals, like humans, needed enlightenment fruits to grow ginger and obtain abilities.

However, unlike humans, animals could undergo spontaneous mutations even without the fruits—a trait humans lacked.

As Winnie Morgan and her group approached, she spoke up, "Hello, sir."

James glanced at her.

This girl was indeed stunning, far more so than any of the women James had encountered so far.

What set her apart was her ethereal, almost otherworldly elegance.

Even in her dirty, disheveled state—her clothes torn, her hair unwashed—her unique aura was undeniable.

[Winnie Morgan] Age: 20 Quality: 9.5/10 (Ethereal Fairy) Virtue: 10/10 (Virgin) Overall Score: 9.5/10

Another 9.5.

So far, only Lily Green had reached a 9.5 score among James's women.

In truth, Lily's beauty wasn't overwhelming—it was her disproportionately attractive figure that boosted her score.

Winnie Morgan, on the other hand, achieved a 9.5 based solely on her looks and temperament.

Impressive. You'll make a fine slave. You're mine now.

James's lips curled into a faint, meaningful smile as he asked, "What do you need?"