Volume 1, Chapter 25: Procuring the Fruit, the Flame Ability User!

Wang Xiaohu joined in the laughter.

"Sis, your boyfriend is a total, world-class simp."

"Don't talk nonsense. I’ve already moved on to better things; why would I ever date a delivery guy?" Wang Xiaoli curled her lip in disdain. "I’m just trying to get some food out of him. Aside from being decent-looking, there isn't a single thing about him that’s worthy of me."

"You’re right, sis. Once he comes crawling back to apologize, we’ll take all his food and leave him with nothing!"

"Lin Feng isn't a fool; he wouldn't just hand everything over. But I’m confident I can get most of it."

Wang Xiaohu’s eyes darted around, and he quickly thought of a plan. "Sis, just lie to him and say you heard from the higher-ups that official relief troops will be arriving soon, so it’s a waste to hoard so much food."

Wang Xiaoli’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands. "Good idea!" Given her professional status, Lin Feng would never suspect a thing. "When he calls to apologize later, that’s exactly what I’ll tell him."

Wang Xiaoli waited expectantly for over an hour, but her phone remained silent. There were no messages. Her fingers began to tremble, and anxiety crept into her heart. She had barely eaten anything in days; at night, the hunger pangs in her stomach were unbearable, and she dreamt of lavish feasts every time she closed her eyes.

"Has his IQ dropped along with our breakup? Does he really need me to remind him to apologize?" Wang Xiaoli thought indignantly, then dialed Lin Feng’s number.

However, a cold, mechanical female voice responded from the other end: "The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check and dial again."

What did that mean? Wang Xiaoli froze, then realized what happened, her face darkening instantly. "That jerk! He actually blocked me!" She gripped her phone so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. "Three months of silence, and he thinks he’s grown a spine?"

Unwilling to accept this, she found Lin Feng on WeChat and fired off a minute-long, furious voice message. Then, she realized she had been blocked there too.

Now, Wang Xiaoli truly panicked. Her earlier confidence was shattered, replaced by the terror of starvation. Her hands and feet turned icy as a sense of helplessness washed over her. Without a way to reach Lin Feng, where was she supposed to find food?

Wang Xiaohu was even more anxious than she was; he was so frustrated that he went AFK in his game, ignoring the curses from his teammates.

"Sis, this simp is using food to lure other women. If those two women are big eaters, the food that should be ours will be gone!"

Hearing this, Wang Xiaoli felt a surge of panic, but she forced a smile. "Don't worry. Those two women aren't stupid; they’ll leave soon. What woman wants to stay with a delivery driver? Xiaohu, don't worry. I know him best. Maybe tomorrow he’ll show up with food to apologize. We just have to hold out a little longer..."

Lin Feng hadn't kicked Wang Xiaoli out of the Shengshi Jiangnan community group; he had simply blocked her. It would be far less entertaining if she couldn't see him showing off his food later.

After dealing with the trivial matter of Wang Xiaoli, Lin Feng took a photo of one of the ability fruits and posted an advertisement in the group.

Full and Satisfied: "@Everyone Buying fruits from mutated plants. Can trade for food. DM me if you have any! [Image]"

The message didn't cause much of a stir. Most people didn't even know what a mutated fruit was, and the few who did wouldn't easily reveal it. Still, a few observant individuals silently took note.

Lin Feng wasn't worried; even if they found and ate the fruits, it didn't matter. Without food, even those with abilities were just waiting to die. For instance, Chen Hao, who had fire abilities in the community group, was begging for food every single day.

Lin Feng posted the message with total confidence. With his current strength and a mutated husky by his side, he wasn't afraid of anyone trying to double-cross him.

After posting, Lin Feng ate an ability fruit as a pre-breakfast dessert. He took a stroll down the corridor, using his [Destiny] ability to scout the surrounding apartments. He discovered that his was the only occupied unit; the other rooms were all empty.

When Lin Feng consumed the sixth ability fruit, a system notification appeared before his eyes:

[Destiny upgraded to LV2. Sensing range increased to 20 meters, and perception is now clearer.]

Lin Feng’s eyes brightened. This range was enough to sense rooms even on the 22nd floor. At that moment, he noticed three people gathered on the 23rd floor. One of them had flames flickering on his body—though he looked a bit different, Lin Feng recognized him. It was Chen Hao, the guy who constantly bragged about his abilities in the group.

Beside him were a man and a woman, the three of them chatting. Lin Feng acted like a surveillance camera, listening in. Chen Hao’s room was filthy, littered with unwashed clothes and discarded food packaging. Besides him, there was another man and a sultry woman. Lin Feng recognized the woman; her name was Liu Jie. In the summer, she often wore backless tops, showing off a large peach-blossom tattoo on her porcelain-white back. She was curled up on the sofa, puffing on a cigarette.

The other man was Xu Xiaodong, a pastry chef from a nearby bakery and a colleague of Chen Hao’s. He sat nearby, watching the fireball in Chen Hao’s palm with envy.

Chen Hao continued to toy with his flame ability. Liu Jie frowned in annoyance, the firelight stinging her eyes. "Damn it! I'm sick of eating flour every day; I’m covered in powder."

"Eat it if you like, get out if you don't!" Chen Hao retorted rudely.

Liu Jie let out a cold snort, not daring to complain to an ability user. Xu Xiaodong just stared at the fireball in Chen Hao's palm with longing. If only he could have eaten an ability fruit, too. He remembered that when the three of them had gone out to find food, they had all seen the crimson fruit. He had been too afraid of poison to eat it, but Chen Hao had been bold enough to swallow it whole. The result? Not only was the guy fine, but he had also become increasingly strong. The moans Liu Jie made every night were the best proof of that.

After playing with his ability for a while, Chen Hao felt good and turned to ask Xu Xiaodong, "Xiaodong, what else is there to eat?"

Xu Xiaodong quickly opened the fridge and revealed a bitter expression. "Big Brother, there are only three bags of flour left."

He had snuck this flour out of the shop, originally intending to make some pasta to satisfy his urge to steal. He never imagined that in this apocalypse, the flour would become life-saving sustenance. Although he was sick of the taste, it had kept him alive.

"Damn it, flour again. Well, we'd better eat it." There wasn't enough drinking water, and the seasonings had all grown mold. If they didn't eat the flour now, it would go bad soon.

Chen Hao sighed. He had the ability, but he couldn't find food. The real problem was that his ability wasn't powerful enough yet. He practiced every day, but he could only burn through two sheets of aluminum—the thickness of a stacked soda can. He still had a long way to go before he could melt through the reinforced security doors of other apartments.

Just then, Xu Xiaodong jumped up, clutching his phone. "Big Brother, look! That guy 'Full and Satisfied' in the group is buying mutated fruits! And he posted a picture—it’s the exact same kind you ate last time!"