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

--Translated by likesnovel--

Jiang Fan walked into the master bedroom.

This was a 3-bedroom apartment that he shared with 2 women.

Jiang Fan rented the smallest room, which naturally came with the lowest rent.

As for his 2 female roommates, both worked day shifts.

When the Red Mist descended upon the world, they were at their companies and ended up trapped outside, unable to return.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Fan took possession of all the supplies and belongings left behind by his 2 roommates.

This room belonged to a woman named He Qian.

Her natural appearance was fairly average, but her makeup skills were exceptional.

Every time she finished putting on makeup, it was as if she became a completely different person.

A woman who would normally be rated a 5 out of 10 could instantly transform into a stunning 9 out of 10 beauty.

He Qian often brought men back to the apartment overnight.

Her personal life was rather chaotic, and there were hardly any peaceful nights in the apartment because of it.

As a result, she frequently argued with the other female roommate.

That roommate's name was Xu Nuo.

She had a cold personality and rarely interacted with anyone.

Jiang Fan, however, never cared about any of that.

After all, he worked night shifts and was rarely home during those hours.

Before long, Jiang Fan found exactly what he was looking for inside He Qian's bedside drawer.

A box of Yuting emergency contraceptive pills.

He took out 2 pills and handed them to Tang Xuerou.

"Take these."

Tang Xuerou accepted them with a nervous expression.

"What is this...?"

"Emergency contraception," Jiang Fan replied calmly.

"In a world like this, you don't want to get pregnant, do you?"

A blush immediately spread across Tang Xuerou's face.

In the end, she could only nod and swallow the pills with purified water.

At that moment, a notification echoed inside Jiang Fan's mind.

【Ding! Tang Xuerou has consumed 2 Yuting pills provided by the Host.】

【200x Return Activated!】

【Obtained: 400 Yuting Pills】

【Stored in Personal Space】

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up.

Even medicine worked?

As long as it was something that could be consumed, the system would generate a return?

He immediately grabbed a new bag of laundry detergent and tossed it to Tang Xuerou.

"Wash my clothes."

Tang Xuerou didn't dare refuse.

She took the detergent and headed into the bathroom.

Jiang Fan silently observed her.

Tang Xuerou tore open the detergent bag and began washing clothes.

This time, however, no system notification appeared.

Even the tap water she used failed to trigger any resource return.

It seemed that...

The item actually had to be consumed.

But according to the system description:

"Resources consumed by female hosts will be returned to the Host."

It never specifically said food.

Jiang Fan pondered the issue for quite some time.

Yet he still couldn't figure it out.

It seemed he would have to slowly uncover the system's secrets one step at a time.

He sat down on the sofa and began scrolling through videos on his phone.

Meanwhile, Tang Xuerou continued washing clothes with her head lowered.

She might be beautiful,

but there was no way he was going to feed her for free.

If she wanted to eat,

she had to work for it.

The internet still offered no good news.

Instead, more and more videos documenting conditions on the ground were being uploaded.

Plants all over the world had begun mutating and growing at astonishing rates.

Ordinary grass that once reached only ankle height was now growing taller and taller.

In some cities,

the grass had already exceeded human height.

Many soccer fields had transformed into giant cornfield-like jungles.

Hidden within them were countless enormous mutated insects.

The danger level was extremely high.

Suddenly,

Jiang Fan came across a particular video.

A middle-aged man with an honest-looking face stood before the camera, demonstrating a supernatural ability.

He raised 2 fingers close together.

Crackle!

Blue sparks shot through the air between his fingertips.

It looked like a miniature bolt of lightning.

Jiang Fan watched with envy.

The man then said:

"Yesterday, I was starving, so I ate a black fruit growing on some weeds near my house."

"It looked a lot like a lychee."

"After eating it, I gained lightning powers."

"If you find black lychee-like fruits, you can try eating them too."

The video had only a few hundred views.

Yet the comment section was flooded.

"Is this real?"

"This guy definitely has bad intentions!"

"Black lychees? That doesn't sound edible at all."

"Plants are mutating everywhere. Who would dare eat something like that?"

...

A black lychee growing on weeds?

Jiang Fan instinctively turned toward the windowsill.

On a small succulent plant sitting there,

2 black fruits that resembled lychees were hanging from its branches.

Could it be...

that this thing really granted lightning powers?

Jiang Fan wasn't reckless enough to test it immediately.

Who knew what the man in the video was really trying to do?

In the apocalypse,

human nature was becoming harder and harder to predict.

Rumors and misinformation spread everywhere.

Even if someone lied,

there was no one left to hold them accountable.

More importantly,

he wasn't even sure whether these black fruits were the same kind shown in the video.

Just then,

a notification suddenly appeared on his phone.

【This video has been removed for violating platform guidelines.】

"Hm?"

This time, Jiang Fan found himself believing the story a little more.

The speed at which the video disappeared...

was simply too suspicious.

It didn't feel like a normal platform ban.

Could it be...

that the government was deliberately concealing something?

Jiang Fan narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment.

Then he put on a pair of rubber gloves.

Walking over to the succulent on the windowsill,

he carefully plucked 1 black lychee-like fruit.

He placed it inside a bowl.

Afterward, he cautiously removed the gloves and tossed them out the window.

Holding the bowl,

he headed straight for the bathroom...

Tang Xuerou was busy washing clothes.

Suddenly, Jiang Fan placed a bowl in front of her.

"Eat it."

Tang Xuerou lowered her head and looked at the black fruit inside the bowl. Her face immediately turned pale.

"W-What is this...?"

Jiang Fan answered indifferently.

"Eat."

He had no intention of explaining further.

If it was poisonous...

Then the one who would die was Tang Xuerou.

In the apocalypse, beautiful women were everywhere.

Jiang Fan wouldn't feel the slightest bit of regret.

Tang Xuerou immediately shook her head and took 1 step back in fear.

"I'm not eating that!"

Shing!

Jiang Fan drew his dagger.

The cold gleam of the blade reflected in the light.

His voice turned icy.

"I said, eat it."

Tang Xuerou's face became as white as paper.

In the end, she could only stretch out her trembling hand and take the black fruit.

No matter how she looked at it,

the black lychee seemed strange and unsettling.

She didn't want to touch it at all.

But when her eyes landed on the dagger,

she realized she had no choice.

Tang Xuerou shut her eyes tightly, gritted her teeth, and swallowed the fruit.

At that moment, the system notification rang out.

【Ding! Tang Xuerou has consumed 1 Awakening Fruit - Perception.】

【200x Return Activated!】

【Obtained: 200 Awakening Fruits - Perception】

【Stored in Personal Space】

【Awakening Fruit (Perception)】

【Star Rank: 1-Star】

【Grants a Perception-type supernatural ability upon consumption】

【Repeated consumption of the same fruit has a chance to increase its Star Rank】

Jiang Fan's heart immediately began racing.

A power fruit!

It was actually a power fruit!

That man wasn't lying!

The only difference was the ability granted.

The other man had gained lightning powers.

This fruit granted Perception.

It seemed that the abilities contained within these fruits were random.

Jiang Fan immediately asked,

"How do you feel?"

Tang Xuerou froze for a moment before replying in confusion.

"I..."

"I think I can see something around you."

"A faint yellow light."

"What is that?"

It worked!

Jiang Fan burst into laughter.

"That was a power fruit."

"Eat one, and you gain supernatural abilities."

"What?!"

Tang Xuerou's eyes widened in shock.

"Superpowers come from eating fruit?"

Over the past few days,

the topic of superpowered individuals had spread across the internet.

But nobody knew where those powers came from.

So this was the source...

These fruits.

Tang Xuerou couldn't help but wonder.

Something this valuable...

Why would Jiang Fan let her eat it?

A trace of gratitude unconsciously surfaced within her heart.

Although he was rude and ruthless,

perhaps he wasn't as terrible as she had imagined.

She lowered her head slightly.

"Thank you..."

Jiang Fan raised his hand.

Instantly,

another black lychee appeared in his palm.

"I have plenty of these."

"If you work hard from now on, I might reward you with another 2 or 3."

"Anything else different?"

Tang Xuerou nodded.

"Yes."

"Using this ability consumes a lot of energy."

"I can't maintain it for long. I have to turn it off."

After speaking,

she let out a long sigh.

It seemed she had deactivated her perception ability.

However, no visible change could be seen from the outside.

"Consumes energy, huh..."

Jiang Fan muttered to himself.

Then he picked up a black lychee.

Peeling away the skin, he tossed it into his mouth.

The flesh was sweet with a hint of sourness.

Surprisingly delicious.

Whoosh!

In an instant,

it felt as though some invisible shackle inside his brain had been broken.

The entire world changed.

Green became greener.

Red became deeper and richer.

When he looked out the window,

everything became dramatically clearer.

It was like upgrading from 480p to 4K resolution in a single moment.

Jiang Fan turned to look at Tang Xuerou.

He discovered that her body was emitting a faint red glow.

Then he looked down at himself.

His own body was wrapped in a green aura.

And it was slightly brighter than Tang Xuerou's.

What did these colors mean?

Just as the question arose,

the system provided an explanation.

【1-Star Perception】

【Allows the user to see a target's attitude toward them】

【Yellow = Neutral】

【Red = Hostile】

【Green = Friendly】

【Brightness indicates the target's health condition】

【Detection Range: 2 meters】

Jiang Fan's eyes immediately lit up.

This was an incredible skill!

It could reveal whether someone harbored good intentions or bad ones.

Especially in a world overflowing with betrayal,

this was practically a god-tier ability.

And judging by the red glow surrounding Tang Xuerou,

she clearly hadn't accepted her situation.

Deep down,

she still carried plenty of resentment and hostility toward him.

At the same time,

Jiang Fan could feel the energy within his body rapidly draining away.

The sensation was similar to sprinting at full speed without stopping.

If he continued using the ability,

he probably wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

He quickly deactivated Perception.

Afterward,

Jiang Fan pulled out another black lychee.

The system had already stated that repeatedly consuming the same fruit could increase its Star Rank.

The 2nd fruit...

Nothing happened.

The 3rd fruit...

Still nothing.

The 4th fruit...

The 5th fruit...

The 6th fruit...

Jiang Fan kept eating them one after another as if they were candy.

Beside him,

Tang Xuerou stared in complete disbelief.

She could hardly believe her own eyes.

These incredibly precious power fruits...

Why did he have so many of them?

Could it be...

that they weren't actually valuable at all?

Finally,

after Jiang Fan consumed his 12th Awakening Fruit,

a change occurred.

The world before him became even clearer.

It was as if another thin veil had been swept away.

At the same time,

a system notification echoed in his mind.

【Ding!】

【Perception Ability Upgraded!】

【Star Rank Increased: 1-Star → 2-Star】

【Detection Range Increased: 2 meters → 5 meters】