"Hahaha! Dead! They're all dead!" The crazed survivor crawled on the floor in front of Delwen's body, giggling and looking around with vacant eyes.

James Lone glanced at him, then turned his attention to the rest of the survivors.

Everyone instinctively took a step back.

James counted 27 people still alive, which meant they could probably last another day.

Over the past night, the Tree of Myriad Abilities had grown more.

His Qi reserves were substantial, enough for at least 100 Phantom Maneuvers. But the growth rate had slowed, and it felt like he had reached a bottleneck, unable to improve no matter how much he practiced.

James decided to try for one more night.

However, there were too few survivors left.

The tentacle monster could pick Winnie Morgan at any moment. For better protection, James decided to bring her closer. He said, "Winnie Morgan, come here."

Winnie took a step back in fear, stammering, "Y-you, wh-what do you want...?"

James raised his gun and said impatiently, "I said, come here!"

Winnie flinched and, with a whimper, said, "D-don't shoot! I'm coming!"

She walked over to James, trembling.

James noticed the wave of red hostility radiating from her through his Perception, but he didn't care.

Winnie was also clutching a fruit knife hidden in her clothes.

James was even less concerned about that. With his enhanced physique, she wouldn't even be able to scratch him.

"Stay here and don't go anywhere. Take these, eat."

James handed her a carton of milk and a bag of bread, then resumed his breathing practice.

Winnie stared at the food, then at James, completely confused about what he was doing.

After a while, seeing that he was ignoring her, she quietly started eating.

Might as well die on a full stomach, she thought.

The tentacle monster continued to kill the survivors one by one.

As darkness fell again, the number of survivors dwindled.

Everyone was on edge, living on borrowed time.

Another night passed.

Fortunately, neither James nor Winnie had been targeted.

However, James finally decided it was time to leave.

After another night of practice, he confirmed that the Tree of Myriad Abilities had reached a plateau. No matter how much he breathed, he couldn't improve further.

James couldn't determine if it was due to insufficient practice, the low grade of his breathing technique, or perhaps the low density of Qi.

If he had more time, he would've continued experimenting.

But with so few survivors left, the monster could attack him or Winnie at any moment.

James surveyed the room.

Only seven survivors remained, and they were all on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Winnie was so terrified that she was practically clinging to James.

After spending a day and a night together, Winnie had started to trust James a little more, and the red hostility radiating from her had lessened.

James stood up and casually opened a blue teleportation gate.

Winnie gasped. "Wh-what's that?"

"Let's go home," James said, scooping Winnie into his arms and stepping through the gate.

A second ability!

Winnie finally understood.

He's a dual-ability user!

The remaining survivors were stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted and rushed toward the gate, shouting:

"Sir! Take me with you! Take me!" "Please, take me! I'll do anything!"

Just then, the tentacle monster suddenly shot out a tentacle, aiming directly at the portal!

The survivors scattered in terror.

Meanwhile, in Sunshine Gardens, Building C...

On the 24th floor, a group of seven or eight men huddled in a dark corner, whispering conspiratorially.

"That damn convenience store clerk hasn't shown up in two days! Do you think he died out there?"

"No way! That guy's too strong—he's got super strength and can walk through walls. How could he die so easily?"

"Who knows? It's dangerous out there. Remember that giant frog? Maybe he got eaten by a monster."

"Maybe... he just doesn't want to come down here anymore."

"Have you noticed that old Wot Andrew hasn't come down to trade pure water for herbs lately? I bet he ran out of the water James gave him. If James was still around, why wouldn't he resupply him?"

"That's a good point. Maybe James really is dead."

"Let's raid his apartment!"

"But what if he's not dead?"

"We... we have to take the risk..."

"Let's do it! I heard James brought down a whole bunch of roast lamb skewers the other day. He must have a ton of food!"

"And women! Shirley Inr Won is gorgeous!"

"If we take his stuff, we'll have food, water, and women!"

"Damn right! Why should he live in luxury while we eat that shit-flavored shepherd's purse?! Why does he waste so much food and not share any with us?"

"Let's do it! Let's raid his place! We'll be set for life!"

"But I heard gunshots from upstairs. James probably has a gun."

A bald man in the group sneered. "New York State has strict gun control. Even if he has a gun, he won't have many bullets! We'll get everyone riled up and have them charge in first. We'll hang back and pick up the scraps."

"Let's do it! I can't stand eating that shit-flavored shepherd's purse any longer!"

Half an hour later, a mob of survivors surged up the stairs.

When they reached the 27th floor, they hesitated, afraid that James might come down and slaughter them.

They pushed and shoved each other, no one willing to go up first. After a few minutes of this, they still hadn't seen James.

Wot Andrew, hearing the commotion in the stairwell, opened his door to investigate. He saw a mob of survivors armed with makeshift weapons crowding the hallway.

"Oh, no!" Wot instantly realized the gravity of the situation and turned to flee up the stairs.

The mob, initially stunned, hesitated, and some wanted to back down.

The bald man, who had instigated the riot, knew that if the group dispersed now, they wouldn't be able to gather again.

And if James was still alive, the others might survive, but he, as the organizer, was as good as dead.

Gritting his teeth, the bald man charged out of the crowd, shouting, "Get him! Don't let him escape!"

He then led the charge up the stairs.

The others, seeing this, followed suit.

Wot Andrew sprinted to the 33rd floor. Old and out of breath, he pounded on Shirley Inr Won's door, gasping, "Open! Open the door! Hurry! They're coming up!"

The women inside were terrified.

With James gone for two nights, they were already on edge. Now, their worst fears were coming true.

"What do we do?!" "That's Dr. Wot's voice!" "Let him in!" "What if he's tricking us?"

Elsa Thomas, in particular, was pale with fear, remembering the women she had seen in cages.

Without James's protection, she and the other women would likely suffer a similar fate.

Shirley Inr Won knew they couldn't afford to panic. She forced herself to calm down and went to the door, peering through the peephole.

Perception activated!

She saw Wot Andrew, bathed in pure green light.

Relieved, but still cautious, Shirley immediately grabbed the handgun James had given her and handed it to Monroe Anne.

"Monroe, you need to watch Wot closely. Don't let your guard down."

Monroe nodded seriously. "Okay."

Shirley then turned to April Jones. "Go to the bedroom and open a portal. If things go south, we'll escape to your place immediately. They don't know where you live, but James does. If he comes back and can't find us, he'll go to your place."

April, on the verge of tears, stammered, "O-okay."

After making these arrangements, Shirley opened the door and let the panting Wot Andrew in.

He had been terrified that the mob would catch him outside.

Relieved, he stepped inside, only to find Monroe Anne pointing a gun at him. He jumped back in fright.

"M-Ms. Anne... what is the meaning of this?"

Monroe remained silent.

Shirley explained, "Dr. Wot, James isn't here. This is for everyone's safety. Just stay here and tell us what's happening downstairs."

Wot Andrew sighed inwardly.

They're even afraid of an old man like me. They're being overly cautious.

Just as he was about to speak, a blue teleportation gate appeared out of thin air.

Wot Andrew was momentarily stunned.

But the women all cried out in joy.

"James is back!"