Chapter 20: Silencing the System

Xu Xiaofeng still restrained her sympathy and did not help Li Gang dress his wounds, but she brought up two more rolls of Bandage and, incidentally, a walkie-talkie.

"Niu Boyi is over by the garage; it can hear the movement in the storage yard, and it will protect you if there is danger. If you have other matters, such as your condition worsening, you can use the walkie-talkie to contact us."

She placed the walkie-talkie on the sofa where Li Gang was lying, "The water in the small building is clean and drinkable."

"Alright, alright, thank you both," Li Gang was a bit afraid of spending the night alone in this building; if those big rats he saw at dusk were to come in at night, he wouldn't be able to run away even if there were just a few.

Having such a large dog to guard the house—this sense of security was truly comforting.

There was only one rechargeable desk lamp in the living room; it was said that the house's electrical circuits had also been destroyed by the Great Disaster, and there were no bulbs in the light troughs overhead.

Li Gang had experience treating wounds, but he couldn't do anything about a fracture himself. He had thought that with such physical exhaustion he would be able to fall asleep directly, but after turning off the light and resting his head on his arm, he couldn't sleep.

The tragic sights after the Great Disaster, the unusual things about Liu Mu, the Mutation of Niu Boyi—how did this world turn into this f***ing state?

"Damn it, what am I going to do from now on?"

Li Gang cursed, covering his eyes with his arm, and two lines of tears streamed down the big man's face. Liu Mu was right; the world was already like this, but he should at least be allowed to feel miserable for a moment.

Liu Mu switched the surveillance screen, clicked her tongue, and said triumphantly, "Big Sister, look, I told you this man would be blubbering; pour me an iced cola."

"Drink it tomorrow!" Xu Xiaofeng slapped her outstretched hand, "Drinking cold things late at night damages the yang energy; a girl's body shouldn't be too cold to begin with. Don't laugh at him either; which one of us hasn't cried?"

"Seriously," Liu Mu rubbed her hand, which had been slapped red, and continued eating, humming, "Let a man cry, let him cry, it's not a sin; the apocalypse will always make you kneel..."

"Just eat your food, don't choke on it in a minute," Xu Xiaofeng put a chicken leg into Liu Mu's bowl, then put one in Zhang Xiaoyong's as well, before continuing to ask, "What exactly happened today? Where did you meet that person?"

Liu Mu lowered her large eyes, seemingly focused on eating meat, "I went to the neighboring Unity Steel Rolling Mill today; Niu Boyi dug the person out of a big hole."

"A big hole? Thank goodness Niu Boyi... eh?" Xu Xiaofeng had a mouthful of rice, "That's not right, didn't you say you were just going to look around nearby? How did you end up so far away in the neighboring county?"

"I was just thinking of wandering around a bit," Liu Mu's own system was a secret, so she tried not to talk about it if she could, and then her goal was exposed by Xu Xiaofeng, "You were thinking of picking up scrap steel, weren't you? Can you really bring back those big steel chunks from the Steel Rolling Mill all by yourself?"

Zhang Xiaoyong, who was focused on devouring his meal, twitched his little ears, "Let's go together, let's go get them back together!"

This kid had really learned something; Liu Mu was very appreciative, "The spirit is commendable, but the action is very difficult!"

Xu Xiaofeng, who she thought would oppose it just the same, said: "It's not impossible; the three of us can bring back one steel chunk at a time. If we make a few trips back and forth in a day, that's several of them. Good heavens, back when big Truck passed by our shop door, those pieces were worth so much!"

"Big Sister, how come you too...?" Liu Mu admired them; they were worthy of being the people she saved, "I have a vehicle, not too big, we can drive there. However, we still have to send that crybaby to the city first; if we delay any longer and he develops sepsis, he's a goner."

"I want to go?" Zhang Xiaoyong had rice grains on his cheeks, his eyes shining as he looked between the two older sisters, "Let me go, I can help."

"You kid just want to go into the city, right?" Liu Mu had originally planned to take no one, and having already refused once yesterday, she thought it wouldn't hurt to take him out for fun this time, "Fine, let's all go together; it's also time to register at the rescue center. You all prepare yourselves, think about if there's anything you want, and we'll go trade for it tomorrow."

This made the two of them overjoyed, but Xu Xiaofeng was worried, "How about I stay home? I won't be at ease if no one stays behind."

"It's fine, once our house is locked, even a bomb can't blow it open; thieves can't get into the basement, and I doubt anyone would want the scrap on the ground level."

For an underground bunker that cost so much money, anti-theft was naturally a given.

After the meal, the three of them began to sleep according to their regular routine, and upon hearing the even breathing of the siblings, Liu Mu slowly closed her eyes and entered the system.

Opening her own data panel, the first thing she saw was that the progress for the 'Merchant' path was '0'. The requirement for advancement was the profit made from doing business, which meant that even if she had a lot of supplies and money now, if she didn't conduct transactions and have profits, the progress would remain at the starting point.

Then there was her physical fitness; the system had been scanning and evaluating her since she inhaled the Red Mist and completed the upgrade. At this moment, the data panel after Mutation was right below the 'Merchant' path.

【Host: Liu Mu, female, 25.5 years old,

Ethnic Group: New Human (evolved human);

Height: 172cm; Weight: 64kg;

Strength: 60 (average person is 20--30);

Speed: 60 (average person is 15--25);

Combat Ability: Pending evaluation, (please train actively, there is a lot of room for improvement);

(For details on IQ, stamina, reaction ability, etc., please expand the page...)

Awakened Ability: Merchant;

Ability Level: Peddler Grade C (upgradable);

Mutation Level: 1 (upgradable);

Mutation Type: Benign mutation without mental or physical contamination;

Mutation Ability: Unknown (mutation process not finished, no accurate result);

Benefits gained from Mutation (incomplete version): Strength increased by onefold (upgradable), toxin resistance increased by 30% (upgradable), height increased by 4cm;

Other data temporarily unknown, will continue to monitor.】

Liu Mu, curled up in her quilt, looked over the data; although it hadn't progressed too exaggeratedly, this was already very exaggerated!

This meant that her strength and speed could now easily beat an average person, "Does this mean all my abilities can still be upgraded?"

【Except for IQ and EQ; the Red Mist inhalation is insufficient. It is recommended to perform the second upgrade in one week.】

This... not enough inhalation? So it really was a Mutation caused by the Red Mist, "I need to know the specific usage and dosage of the Red Mist; are there any side effects?"

【Usage is via respiratory absorption; temporary observation shows it cannot directly enter the bloodstream, and digestive tract absorption is not ideal. Dosage is currently undetermined, but it is certain that the inhalation amount for animals is about 50% less than that of humans, which can cause Mutation. The probability of benign Mutation is uncertain, side effects are unknown, and experimental data is still needed.】

"You're treating us as test subjects, aren't you?" Liu Mu was very dissatisfied, turned over, and continued, "Then is there an improvement plan? We can't just practice physical fitness all the time; that's useless other than making us a bit stronger."

【The system only has basic combat techniques; please choose to purchase: Eight Extremes Fist, Tai Chi Fist, Military Combat Fist, Through-the-Back Fist...】

"How come it's all fist techniques? Isn't there that kind of profound martial art where you can kill with a flying leaf or kill invisibly from a hundred meters away?"

【Please recognize the discrepancy between martial arts novels and reality; these are all Traditional Martial Arts. Currently, you have no weapons and are temporarily focusing on physical techniques; it is recommended that you learn from the basics.】

"Aren't the basics physical training?" Liu Mu also knew that those internal energy cultivation methods and sword flying in TV dramas were all fake!

"Fine, I'll think about it," she planned to ask Li Gang tomorrow under the guise of caring for the wounded; after all, he came from the military and should know more about these things, "What about my Niu Boyi? Is there any doggy fist?"

This question silenced the system.