Apocalypse: Resources consumed by women will be returned ten thousandfold.

--Translated by likesnovel--

Jiang Fan leaned over the balcony and looked down the side of the building.

What he saw immediately made his eyes narrow.

The mysterious vine had already covered almost the entire exterior wall.

An endless sea of green stretched as far as the eye could see.

But when he looked closer, everyone's scalp went numb.

Because hanging from those vines were countless animal corpses.

Giant sparrows...

Massive rats...

Even a cat the size of a tiger.

Every corpse was shriveled and dried out, as if all the blood and flesh had been completely drained away.

"So that's what's going on..."

Jiang Fan muttered.

No wonder no mutated beasts had come to feed on Hu Lei.

They had already been taken care of by this terrifying vine.

Behind him, Tang Xuerou and Xu Mengqian had both gone pale.

Their hearts filled with fear.

The world had truly changed.

Even plants had started eating people.

Jiang Fan activated his special perception again.

His gaze swept across the sprawling vines.

This time, he saw it clearly.

A faint red aura covered the vines.

It wasn't particularly intense, but within the blood-red mist that blanketed the world, it blended in so perfectly that it was almost impossible to notice.

Jiang Fan's expression turned serious.

"It looks like..."

"It's not only powerful creatures that are dangerous."

"Sometimes, the things that seem the weakest can be just as deadly."

Of course, these vines weren't the type that could actively chase down prey.

They had almost no mobility.

They relied on victims coming close on their own.

And they needed a long time to absorb their targets.

Even so...

They were still terrifying.

Soon, Jiang Fan noticed something else.

Inside Hu Lei's body, faint red energy flowed through his veins.

It had spread throughout his entire body.

Like seeds that the vine had planted inside him.

Jiang Fan's expression shifted slightly.

He took out a bottle of purified water from his storage space.

Then splashed it onto Hu Lei's face.

*Splash!*

Hu Lei jerked awake.

His lips were cracked and dry.

Weakly, he muttered,

"Water..."

"Please... give me some water..."

The severe blood loss had left him desperately thirsty.

Jiang Fan asked calmly,

"Does your left hand hurt?"

"My left hand?"

Hu Lei barely paid attention to the question.

His eyes remained locked on the bottle of water.

"Water..."

"Please let me have a drink..."

Jiang Fan frowned.

He couldn't feel anything?

His left hand had practically been reduced to skin and bone.

It seemed the vine possessed an anesthetic effect.

Its victims didn't even feel pain while being consumed.

Then, right in front of Hu Lei's eyes, Jiang Fan tossed the water bottle off the building.

"No!!!"

Hu Lei nearly went insane.

"Just one sip!"

"Please!"

But Jiang Fan ignored him.

Instead, he handed a roll of clear tape to Xu Mengqian.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Seal your fiancé's mouth."

"He's too noisy."

Xu Mengqian obediently accepted the tape.

"Yes, Brother Jiang."

She walked over and crouched in front of Hu Lei.

Hu Lei stared at her in disbelief.

"Mengqian..."

"You..."

Xu Mengqian avoided his gaze.

She cut off a strip of tape with scissors.

Then quickly pressed it across his mouth.

Only then did she speak softly.

"You probably aren't going to survive."

"And I'm just a woman."

"I still want to live."

"You... understand that, don't you?"

Hu Lei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

They were filled with rage and despair.

"I don't understand anything!"

"Mmph! Mmphhh!"

He struggled frantically.

But he couldn't speak another word.

Jiang Fan burst out laughing.

Hu Lei was so furious he nearly lost his mind.

But his body could barely move.

The only thing he could do was slam his head against the metal railing.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

His body was already severely injured.

Combined with his rage and continued blood loss, it didn't take long before he lost consciousness again.

Silence returned to the balcony.

...

The next morning.

**09:30 AM.**

Jiang Fan sat eating enhancement fruits one after another while watching Hu Lei's body hanging outside.

He had already lost count of how many fruits he had consumed.

Then a familiar notification rang out.

【Ding!】

【Physical Enhancement has advanced to 4-Star Rank!】

【Overall Attributes +80】

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up.

"Adding my original base stat of 10..."

"My total attributes have reached 90."

Excitement surged through him.

He casually pressed a hand against the bed.

His body floated upward effortlessly.

As though gravity barely affected him.

After his overall attributes reached **90**, he could clearly feel a qualitative transformation taking place.

Every minor ache and strain accumulated over the years had disappeared.

His skin became smooth and flawless.

Even small scars from childhood had faded away.

His mild nearsightedness was completely gone.

The muscles throughout his body became firm and refined.

Not oversized or exaggerated.

Just perfectly balanced.

Yet beneath that ordinary appearance lurked terrifying power.

Jiang Fan pulled out a **1-yuan coin**.

Then applied only a small amount of force.

*Crack!*

The coin folded in half instantly.

As easily as kneading clay.

He folded it again.

And again.

Then crushed it in his palm.

By the end, the entire coin had become a tiny metal ball.

"Amazing..."

Jiang Fan took a deep breath.

The higher his attributes climbed, the greater the increase became.

The improvements weren't linear anymore.

They were exponential.

Next, he took out a dagger.

Placing a finger against the blade's tip, he slowly applied pressure.

*Creeeak...*

The hardened steel tip gradually flattened.

As if it were nothing more than a thin sheet of aluminum.

With a body like this, his chances of survival had increased dramatically.

Afterward, Jiang Fan activated his perception ability once more.

To his surprise, he barely felt any energy consumption.

He could keep it running **24 hours a day** without issue.

He immediately made a decision.

From now on, he would maintain the ability at all times.

In the apocalypse, the power to detect danger before it arrived was priceless.

After spending some time testing his new strength, Jiang Fan finally walked out onto the balcony, thoroughly satisfied.

Hu Lei was dead.

Tiny vine sprouts had emerged from his mouth.

His nostrils.

And his ears.

The sight was horrifying.

Under Jiang Fan's perception, countless vines filled the corpse from the inside.

They emitted a sinister dark-red glow.

Jiang Fan frowned.

He removed the tape and ropes securing the body.

Then pushed the corpse over the edge.

Hu Lei's body fell through the blood-red mist below.

And vanished from sight in the blink of an eye...

Throughout the entire night, the mutated frog never appeared to attack Hu Lei even once.

Seeing that, Jiang Fan became almost **100% certain** of one thing.

That monster's attack range wasn't nearly as large as he had originally feared.

He turned toward the apartment door.

A giant dog was lying there quietly.

Judging by its abnormally large size, there was no need to guess.

It was Bai Yan.

Jiang Fan opened the door.

The moment the mutated husky saw him, it immediately sprang to its feet.

Its tail wagged so hard it looked ready to fly off.

Then it lowered its head and let out a pitiful whine, practically begging for a head pat.

Jiang Fan looked at the bright green aura surrounding its body and laughed.

Clearly, this fellow had already chosen its master.

He reached out and vigorously rubbed the dog's head.

Then he pulled out **20 steaks** and a large pile of sausages.

He tossed them onto the floor.

"Eat."

"Woof! Woof!"

Bai Yan was so excited it nearly jumped into the air.

It immediately buried its head in the food and devoured everything happily.

Jiang Fan patted its head for a while before muttering to himself,

"I'll observe you for another **2 days**."

"If there aren't any problems, I'll let you into the apartment."

In the apocalypse, sometimes dogs were more trustworthy than people.

...

While scrolling through news updates on his phone, Jiang Fan grabbed a handful of Perception Fruits and casually tossed them into his mouth one after another.

The taste wasn't bad at all.

He had practically started treating them as snacks.

Unfortunately, the news online offered little comfort.

The authorities remained unusually silent.

The only official announcements repeated the same message over and over:

Citizens should protect themselves and stay alert to danger.

Even so, many people had uploaded videos showing large numbers of armed helicopters flying across the sky.

Yet nobody knew what missions they were carrying out.

At the same time, more and more superpowered individuals were beginning to appear.

However...

Information regarding the mysterious "Black Lychees" still hadn't been made public.

Countless people had been forced to leave their homes in search of food.

Most of them paid a terrible price.

Cats...

Dogs...

Praying mantises...

Centipedes...

Cockroaches...

Rats...

Spiders...

Ants...

Creatures humanity had once ignored were now terrifying predators.

The streets had become a battlefield of death.

Powerful awakened individuals still had a chance of surviving.

But for ordinary people...

Taking a single step outside could mean death.

While reading through various reports, Jiang Fan noticed something else.

The cellphone signal had become noticeably weaker.

"Looks like some of the nearby communication towers are already down."

He muttered quietly.

As time passed...

Running water...

Electricity...

Gas...

Internet...

The conveniences city dwellers had always taken for granted would disappear one by one.

Human living conditions would continue to deteriorate.

Jiang Fan walked to the window.

His expression grew increasingly grim as he looked outside.

The entire Building A across from him was now covered by vines.

The **33-story** tower had become a massive green wall.

At the same time, enormous pine trees emerged from the blood-red mist.

They shot toward the heavens.

Their tops disappeared beyond sight.

Among their branches flew giant birds of an unknown species.

They resembled swallows.

Yet each one was larger than an eagle.

Jiang Fan's expression darkened further.

He understood something very clearly.

This place wouldn't remain safe for much longer.

If vegetation continued growing at this speed, the area around the apartment complex would eventually become a jungle.

And when that happened...

Mutated beasts of every kind would enter the buildings.

No amount of stored supplies would matter.

Nobody could fight against the power of nature itself.

I need to become stronger.

The determination in Jiang Fan's eyes intensified.

He took out one of the special fruits.

Snapped a photo.

Then posted it in the community group chat.

【Free Food and Shelter】

【@Everyone】

【Buying black fruits that resemble lychees】

【Contact me privately if you have any】

【Attached Image】

The message attracted little attention.

Most people still had no idea what the fruit was.

Only a handful of clever individuals quietly memorized its appearance.

Jiang Fan had little choice.

If someone else ate a special fruit first, he would lose the opportunity to obtain it.

There was another reason as well.

He was already strong enough.

Strong enough to protect himself.

*Crunch!*

Jiang Fan tossed another Perception Fruit into his mouth.

Suddenly, the system notification sounded.

【Ding!】

【Perception Ability Advanced to 4-Star Rank!】

【Perception Range Increased to 50 meters】

【You can now see Energy Core Nodes inside living targets】

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up.

In that instant, his perception expanded dramatically.

Looking downward now, he could see all the way to the **17th floor**.

Half the building had entered the range of his perception.

Nearly **100 survivors** trapped inside their apartments appeared clearly within his awareness.

What surprised Jiang Fan even more was that the blood-red mist did not interfere with his perception at all.

"Everyone else is practically blind inside this fog..."

"But I'm not affected in the slightest."

His heart began pounding.

Then he remembered the new ability description.

Energy Core Nodes?

What exactly were those?

He immediately examined his own body.

And discovered something unexpected.

Near his lower abdomen was a bright green object.

Its shape resembled a small ginger root that had not fully matured.

"What is this?"

Jiang Fan touched his stomach.

Yet he felt nothing unusual.

Next, he turned his attention toward the other survivors inside the building.

The results surprised him.

Among all the survivors from the **17th floor** upward, only **2 people** besides himself possessed a similar object.

The first was Tang Xuerou.

The "ginger root" inside her body was smaller than his.

Its green color was also noticeably lighter.

The second person was in Apartment **1708** on the **17th floor**.

The object inside that individual's body was about the same size as Tang Xuerou's.

However, it shone with a brilliant golden color.

The moment Jiang Fan recalled the resident's information, a name immediately surfaced in his mind.

Zhou Tianhao.

A heavily built man whose physique resembled that of a professional bodybuilder.

Jiang Fan narrowed his eyes.

A thought slowly formed in his mind.

"Could it be..."

"These ginger-like things..."

"Are actually the source of supernatural abilities?"