Midnight Spectacle

After receiving his reward, Xue Feng felt his body brimming with strength.

He couldn't help but quietly speculate to himself:

"Shenxiao? That must be the name of the lightning ability."

"Endurance +5? I wonder if my physical defense can now withstand a zombie's deadly claws?"

On the way back, Xue Feng encountered another mutant.

An Xiaowei had been traumatized by this hulking creature before. When she saw the mutant charging after them, her first instinct was to speed away.

Xue Feng, however, cautioned, "Xiaowei, don't rush. Slow the car down a bit and let me practice!"

"Okay, Brother Feng!" Though nervous, An Xiaowei always obeyed Xue Feng's instructions unconditionally.

To test the power of his upgraded ability, Xue Feng simply opened the car door and got out.

Bang!

A sphere of lightning accurately struck the mutant's massive body. The creature only stiffened for a moment before resuming its writhing.

Bang, bang...

Xue Feng hurled seventeen lightning spheres in succession, exhausting himself to the point of near collapse, before finally setting the beast ablaze.

The gigantic mutant zombie burned into a ball of fire, reduced to ashes.

Although Xue Feng himself was not satisfied, An Xiaowei, standing nearby, was utterly stunned.

"Brother Feng, how did you do that? That's incredible!"

She eagerly prepared to help Xue Feng "open the treasure chest"—dig out the mutant crystal. She always volunteered for these dirty, arduous tasks.

But Xue Feng stopped her, pointing to You Haoyun, "Let her do it."

On one hand, this was to teach An Xiaowei how to delegate. After all, she was his first trusted subordinate—loyal without question and very capable. In the future, he couldn't handle everything personally. On the other hand, Xue Feng wanted to test whether You Haoyun was truly lucky.

Sure enough, as before, You Haoyun proved her worth, soon bringing back a mutant crystal and handing it to An Xiaowei.

It seemed that the luck stat was associated with the quality of loot gained after a kill.

An Xiaowei had coveted the mutant ability for a long time. But after accepting the crystal and fiddling with it, nothing happened. In her hands, it was no different from a diamond—beautiful, but utterly useless.

Her expectations had been high, but the result left her deeply disappointed.

"Enough, Xiaowei, don't dwell on it..." Xue Feng said with a calm smile. "The crystals we collected yesterday are different from today's. Maybe we'll find other types in the future—there's bound to be one that's right for you."

"Alright!"

Though she said this, Xue Feng already had a suspicion.

On the way back, Xue Feng instructed An Xiaowei to use firearms, let You Haoyun try any melee weapon she wanted, and himself occasionally unleashed lightning. They wiped out another batch of zombies.

Xue Feng and You Haoyun both gained loot, but whenever An Xiaowei collected spoils, she got nothing.

Just as he suspected.

An Xiaowei’s luck stat could never exceed the human limit of ten. Xue Feng, blessed with a hundred points of luck, needed no explanation, and You Haoyun was the goddess of luck herself.

Because their luck was so high, not only was the drop rate excellent, but the loot was almost always tailored to themselves. There was no chance of getting items suitable for others.

If An Xiaowei wanted to awaken, she would ultimately have to rely on herself.

"Alright, cheer up," Xue Feng said, placing his large hand gently on An Xiaowei's slender back.

Though she sometimes couldn't help, she was always diligent and trustworthy. If he had the chance, he wouldn't mind helping her grow stronger.

Her loyalty was plain to see—clever, capable, unwavering in her devotion, and attractive to boot.

With a subordinate like this, Xue Feng would certainly treat her well.

...

Rat-tat-tat—

On the armored vehicle, An Xiaowei, who had not awakened her ability, gripped the trigger tightly. The muzzle of her gun poured out her pent-up emotions toward the surging zombies.

Soon, a large number of zombies fell before her.

Xue Feng, meanwhile, never used firearms, instead repeatedly unleashing Shenxiao.

With his lightning ability only at level two, the damage was low. Large mutants usually took more than ten hits to dispatch. Even ordinary zombies needed three to five shots.

In terms of combat results, Xue Feng was even outperformed by An Xiaowei.

But that only applied to mindless zombies. If the opponent were human, Shenxiao was not only stealthy and quick to release, but could paralyze the target with a single strike.

It was his trump card at this stage.

Compared to the two of them, You Haoyun was rather pitiful. Assigned only melee weapons, she cowered around the armored car, venturing out with her axe only when Xue Feng ordered her. Trembling, she split open fallen zombies to extract their mutant crystals.

Thus, Xue Feng and An Xiaowei slaughtered monsters while You Haoyun collected loot.

This continued until dusk.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Xue Feng announced, glancing at the setting sun.

At night, zombies became far more active. Although they had the protection of the armored vehicle, caution was still wise. Who knew what might emerge after dark?

"Okay." At his command, An Xiaowei quickly put away her weapon, and You Haoyun, relieved, scrambled onto the vehicle.

Turning the key, Xue Feng floored the accelerator, speeding toward Riverside Villas.

Arriving at Villa No. 105, You Haoyun was overwhelmed by the grandeur of this sanctuary.

Who would have thought that in a world where everyone lived in fear, such a place could exist?

"This is our shelter," Xue Feng said quietly. "Go let the dogs out first."

"Huh? Oh!"

You Haoyun hesitated, then realized Xue Feng was ordering her. She hurried to the back of the armored car and opened the trunk.

Eighteen dogs, exchanged from Wangshan Pet Store, poured out in a rush.

Xue Feng fetched food from the villa and fed them one by one.

Clearly famished, the dogs devoured their meals ravenously.

After eating, the dogs showed their gratitude by circling Xue Feng, frantically rubbing against his pant legs.

Their response pleased him. Dogs were humanity’s most loyal companions, and he had chosen only large breeds.

Adult large dogs could fight as well as two or three grown men.

According to the system, some of these dogs had mutation potential.

When the time came, their strength would be even greater!

"When you grow up, guarding the house will be your duty."

...

Night fell.

After a brief rest, the three, exhausted from the day, retired to the bedroom.

Initially, You Haoyun refused, but Xue Feng claimed the other rooms had not been cleaned and still contained corpses. Thus, she insisted on staying with them, though she made herself a pallet on the floor by the bed.

Xue Feng didn’t bother with her. Tonight, his focus was on An Xiaowei.

After a full day, he was certain of An Xiaowei’s loyalty.

And this woman was no fool—competent and diligent.

So Xue Feng decided to reward her well tonight.

Click—

The door gently opened.

Fresh from her bath, wrapped in a robe, An Xiaowei entered.

"Brother~"

Her eyes were sultry, damp hair clinging to her porcelain skin.

"Get ready, Xiaowei's coming~"

With a tug at her chest, her loose robe slipped to the floor.

Before Xue Feng could appreciate the view, there was a soft click; the room plunged into darkness.

A rustling sound followed.

Like a fish, An Xiaowei slipped to the foot of the bed, feeling her way upward in the dark.

Soon, their eyes met.

"Brother~" she whispered, biting her lip, her gaze alluring.

Her finger rested on Xue Feng’s chest, fragrant breath escaping her lips:

"Brother, please be gentle tonight... ah!"

Before she finished, Xue Feng swept her into his arms.

A startled cry escaped her as she found herself face to face with his mischievous, handsome smile.

A deep voice sounded by her ear:

"Have you ever practiced yoga?"

"Yoga?"

...

It must be said, Xue Feng was an excellent yoga instructor, teaching An Xiaowei many difficult poses.

She was a diligent pupil, learning with great effort.

Soon, she was panting, drenched in fragrant sweat, unable to straighten her back.

Teacher Xue regarded the limp An Xiaowei with helplessness:

"What, is that all?"

"I can't go on, teacher. Practicing yoga is exhausting."

An Xiaowei was utterly conquered.

She had expected a battle of equals, but instead found herself like a soulless doll, manipulated at will.

Within half an hour, she was drained completely.

"But teacher, I'm still burning with energy."

Xue Feng sighed.

So this was it? Three hundred rounds, indeed. She was just a little weakling!

"I... I can still fight!"

Sensing Xue Feng’s displeasure, An Xiaowei suddenly smiled, showing two delicate tiger teeth.

Then she slipped beneath the covers.

Soon, Xue Feng was at her mercy.

...

You Haoyun was not in good shape either.

Sharing the room, she couldn't help but overhear every sound.

Seriously, were they really this blatant?

The seductive noises constantly invaded her ears.

Her mouth was dry, but she dared not make a sound.

After all, she remembered all too well how Xue Feng had booted her off the vehicle with little provocation.

Now, with An Xiaowei flagging and Xue Feng still full of energy, he might well drag her into the fray.

Thinking this, she tightened her blanket.

But even this tiny movement caught Xue Feng’s attention.

He glanced at You Haoyun, bundled up like a silkworm beside the bed, and a smile crept onto his lips.

It seemed he had found his candidate to replace Xiaowei.