Lu Yu, who utilizes a non-attribute crystal nucleus, possesses superior physical strength but lacks in mental strength. Interestingly, in his situation, a simple sleep can result in a full recovery, a resurrection of sorts.
This is not the case for others. They experience both physical and mental exhaustion, and a single night's rest is insufficient for their recovery.
Lu Yu, therefore, leaves Ding Feng at the hotel to safeguard the supplies while he takes the others out. After a day of combat, Ding Feng has advanced to an intermediate black iron level, making him a formidable opponent.
With Ding Feng's presence, Lu Yu feels more secure. Li Wanning and He Li are capable of handling logistics together. Yan Yun accompanies them as she is needed to locate the crystal nucleus.
As for Wu Qiang, his inclusion is self-explanatory. He is not only resilient but also not loyal.
Who else would Lu Yu bring along if not him?
Outside the hotel, Lu Yu is busy exterminating monsters. The air is thick with the stench of decay. Occasionally, they spot some lizardmen, unable to find food, resorting to consuming the skeletal remains of corpses. The remnants of various cars and signs are scattered everywhere.
Due to the potential for monsters hiding in the rooms on either side of the street, everyone proceeds with caution. After a morning of hunting, Yan Yun discovers a spiritual core in the brain of a high-level lizardman.
This lizardman, appearing intelligent and aware of when to flee, possesses a spiritual core.
As suggested by its name, this core serves the purpose of replenishing or augmenting the maximum limit of spiritual power. The overall enhancement value is akin to that of the non-attribute crystal core, typically ranging between 3-5 points, and on rare occasions, reaching 6 points.
Contrarily, the common black iron grade lacks an attribute crystal nucleus. It is inherently transparent but is characterized by black lines running through it.
This particular crystal nucleus, despite having a black texture, is intrinsically gray.
Lu Yu, with a grin on his face, exclaims,
"Hehe, excellent, excellent!"
He holds the gray crystal nucleus in his hand and turns to the others, questioning,
"Are you all familiar with the function of the crystal nucleus?"
"Indeed! Ding Feng explained it to me yesterday!"
Xue Li responds. Yan Yun, who accompanied Lu Yu the previous day, is also informed about it.
Even though Wu Qiang was a late addition to the group, Lu Yu did not keep this secret from him. "Starting today, this information must remain confidential," Lu Yu instructs them.
"Understood!" they respond.
"Rest assured, I guarantee I won't disclose this to anyone," Wu Qiang reassures him, thumping his chest.
Lu Yu nods approvingly, "That's reassuring. Also, unless absolutely necessary, our team follows a centralized training approach!"
"Centralized training?"
"What does that entail?" they inquire.
Lu Yu elucidates, "It involves focusing the crystal nucleus on a single individual initially, enhancing this person's combat power, and then utilizing this stronger individual to gather the crystal nucleus to aid others!"
"Young Master Lu, the decision is yours." "Yes, we will abide by your instructions," they concur. Except for Wu Qiang, the likelihood of betrayal from others in Lu Yu's team is minimal.
Therefore, if Lu Yu were to make a declaration, they would undoubtedly comply. Even Wu Qiang wouldn't dare to confront Lu Yu openly.
Indeed, Lu Yu's approach to resource distribution is highly strategic. The primary focus is on the development of a single individual initially, who, once empowered, can assist in the growth of others. This method ensures that the team has a strong pillar to rely on in times of crisis.
The consumption of the crystal core is not essential unless it leads to extreme physical fatigue. The idea is to allow a single person to utilize these cores.
This approach is more effective for survival in the post-apocalyptic world compared to the strategy of splitting the crystal core among many.
However, the individual who is intensively trained must be universally accepted by the team to prevent any potential conflicts. Fortunately, Lu Yu's team doesn't face this issue. Therefore, Lu Yu is the one who should distribute the cores. After assessing the condition of his team members, Lu Yu decided not to use these crystal cores for the time being.
This decision further demonstrates his strategic thinking and leadership skills.
"He… he's amazing!!"
From the vantage point of room 8008, Lu Yu could be seen leading his team in a systematic and efficient extermination of the monsters on the street. This sight elicited a sense of admiration in Li Wanning.
She had shared a room with Yan Yun the previous night. Given the perilous circumstances, the two women naturally set aside their teacher-student dynamic and engaged in deep conversations.
Li Wanning found herself greatly respecting Yan Yun. The fact that a young woman of just 20 years had the audacity to confront those monsters with her boyfriend on the very first day of the apocalypse was truly commendable.
Such bravery is not commonly found. Even if Yan Yun had been compelled by Lu Yu to venture out on the first day, it was still an impressive feat.
Li Wanning admitted to herself that she lacked such courage. For instance, while Lu Yu led his team out to hunt monsters today, she could only stay back at the hotel, maintaining cleanliness with He Li.
Suddenly, there was an unexpected knock on the door of the room.
"Who is it?"
Li Wanning inquired.
"It's me, Shen Bin!" came the reply. Upon opening the door, Li Wanning was greeted by the sight of Shen Bin, standing tall with his hands clasped behind his back. As she took in the sight of the accomplished man before her, an image flashed across her mind.
Shen Bin and Lu Yu were of similar height, both tall but Lu Yu was more attractive. She couldn't help but feel a significant disparity between them.
"Shen Bin?
What brings you here?" she asked.
"I came to check on you. Have the others gone out?"
Shen Bin responded, his gaze drifting past Li Wanning to scan the room. Li Wanning had not returned to room 8046 the previous night, and he had followed her here. Upon learning that Li Wanning was sharing a room with Yan Yun, he hadn't given it much thought.
"Can't you see they're not here?"
he asked, to which Li Wanning replied, "Yes, I noticed they had left, so I decided to come here. Wan Ning, look what I have for you."
With a mysterious smile, Shen Bin revealed a bowl and a pair of chopsticks he had been hiding behind his back. The bowl contained half a serving of yellowed rice, a couple of greens, and a small portion of kimchi.
"You haven't had lunch yet, have you?
I specially ordered this for you from Manager Zhao, so please eat…" he offered. Taken aback, Li Wanning could only respond with a surprised,
"Ah?
No need."
Observing Shen Bin cherishing what he usually disdains as meals stirred a profound sense of melancholy in Li Wanning's heart. "Lu Yu left a substantial amount of food in Mr. Ding's room when he departed," she informed Shen Bin. Taken aback, Shen Bin questioned,
"Really?
He left so much food?"
Li Wanning, maintaining her stern expression, retorted,
"Why would I lie to you?"
She further explained, "Before leaving, Lu Yu mentioned that if you were to visit around noon, you could join us for a meal. Since it's lunchtime, let's head there." Upon hearing this, Shen Bin's eyes sparkled with anticipation, and a grin spread across his face.
"Is that kid genuinely offering food?"
he wondered aloud.
Together, they summoned He Li and located Ding Feng. The sight that greeted Shen Bin left him astounded. "My goodness… braised beef, white chopped chicken, and roasted fat sausages!"
He had decided against asking Lu Yu for food this morning, not wanting to appear inferior.
Instead, he had spent the morning with Manager Zhao and others, even having breakfast from Manager Zhao downstairs.
Given Manager Zhao's cunning nature, it was unlikely that he would provide an abundance of food. When compared to Lu Yu's offerings, Manager Zhao's meals seemed no better than swill. The difference was stark.
The sight of the delectable spread made Shen Bin's mouth water. He quickly gathered a few people and began to eat without any hesitation. However, he held onto the bowl of plain rice, a poignant reminder that only those who have experienced hunger can truly appreciate the value of food.
In contrast to Shen Bin's voracious eating, Li Wanning was in a different state. She wasn't particularly hungry, having had breakfast and water provided by Lu Yu. Her mind was preoccupied with the questions Lu Yu had posed the previous day.
"It seems I need to find someone for protection," she thought. Quick to grasp the reality of their situation, she realized that to survive, she needed a strong individual to safeguard her. Otherwise, she could easily fall into danger.
At present, she only knew two people - Lu Yu and Shen Bin.
"Shen Bin?
No…" As she looked up at Shen Bin, who was devouring his food, a wave of despair washed over her.
"He's so unreliable!" she thought.
As for Lu Yu, while there was no doubt about his strength, he was her student.
Why should he protect her?
"And the things he told me last night… why did he share those with me?"
Suddenly, a thought struck her, leaving her stunned "Could he have feelings for me… oh my god… no… no?"
Li Wanning is known for her intellectual acumen, which has played a significant role in her becoming a professor at a young age. When Lu Yu hinted at his intentions, her sharp intellect quickly deciphered his plan.
Lu Yu, on the other hand, was indifferent to whether she understood or not. He was aware that the truth would eventually come to light.
Meanwhile outside Rhine Hotel,
Out of the blue, a formidable creature known as the sickle mantis swooped down from the sky. It brandished its massive sickle and charged towards the crowd. Lu Yu, however, remained calm and composed.
With a swift motion of his hand, he conjured a blade of wind that struck the mantis, sending it flying and inflicting severe damage.
"Xiao Jin!"
Lu Yu called out gently. Upon hearing Lu Yu's command, Xiao Jin, who shared a profound bond with Lu Yu, sprang into action.
He dashed towards the mantis with incredible speed. The mantis, already injured by Lu Yu's attack, was about to retaliate when it noticed a large shadow approaching.
Despite the mantis's impressive size of two meters, its primary strength resided in its two sickles. The rest of its body was relatively weak, especially when compared to Xiao Jin, who was at the initial stage of bronze.
Before the mantis could react, Xiao Jin had pounced on it, grabbed its head, and effortlessly twisted its neck.
Suddenly, a system prompt appeared, congratulating Lu Yu on the upgrade of his wind attribute ability to the black iron intermediate level. This brought a smile to Lu Yu's face. His power had finally been upgraded! Both physical fitness and ability have potential for improvement in the early stages without the use of crystal cores.
Continuous usage can lead to significant enhancements in a short period.
Lu Yu, for instance, had become much stronger and his abilities had also been upgraded in less than two days after the end of the world.
His current attributes were quite satisfactory. The difference between the abilities of the black iron intermediate level and the primary level was essentially the storage capacity, which had doubled to ten wind blades.
The compression degree, release speed, and accuracy of the wind blade were unrelated to the power level. To enhance this ability, one needs to improve their mental strength.
The higher the mental power, the easier it is to control the power, resulting in faster speed, higher precision, and stronger power.
Meanwhile, the survivors inside the hotel and the houses on both sides of the street downstairs watched Lu Yu and his team hunting monsters, expressing surprise and admiration.
They too were beginning to organize counterattacks, but they hadn't even managed to clear the monsters from their living spaces, let alone venture out of the building like Lu Yu and his team.
After witnessing the scene on the street downstairs, some survivors began to contemplate joining Lu Yu's team. However, they were unsure if they would be accepted.
"Boss, I'm exhausted. Can we take a break?"
Shi Lei, clutching his crossbow, pleaded with a weary tone. Lu Yu cast a glance at him, taking note of his 27% betrayal rate.
Despite this, Shi Lei was an Awakener, possessing a somewhat underwhelming ability known as Hawkeye, which granted him long-distance vision.
"Alright," Lu Yu conceded, "Let's head to the neighboring cake shop. It's lunchtime. Everyone, stay alert."
The cake shop, located by the roadside, was a quaint establishment. Its interior was in disarray - the glass counter was broken, with shards strewn all over the floor, and the cakes were destroyed.
Lu Yu instructed Xiao Jin to enter and scout for any lurking monsters. The shop was devoid of any living beings.
Within the shop was a lounge, which was in a state of chaos. The floor was smeared with blood. Two lizard monsters were gorging on two corpses in the room.
The victims were both females, their bodies now mutilated beyond recognition. One of the girls' faces had been half-eaten, presenting a horrifying sight that induced nausea in everyone.
Acting swiftly in tandem with Xiao Jin, Lu Yu dispatched the monsters with two swift strokes of his sword. There were no nuclei to be found. Unfazed, Lu Yu promptly shut the lounge door to keep the foul stench at bay.
Outside, the shattered glass door had already been secured by Shi Lei and Wu Qiang. Lu Yu assigned Xiao Jin and Xiao Xi to stand guard at the entrance. He then nonchalantly dragged a table over and laid out the remaining food from the previous night's meal.
"Take a breather, everyone. Yan Yun, accompany me," Lu Yu instructed post-meal. He led Yan Yun to the cake shop's checkout counter.
He picked up two toppled stools, and Yan Yun took a seat on one of them, her gaze filled with confusion.
"What's the matter, Lu Yu?" she asked.
"I wanted to inquire about your conversation with Miss Li last night," Lu Yu responded.
"Ah?
Why this sudden curiosity?" Yan Yun was caught off guard.
"Answer my question first!" Lu Yu persisted.
"We did converse, but it was mostly small talk," Yan Yun admitted.
"Do you know who Shen Bin is?" Lu Yu queried.
"Shen Bin?"
Yan Yun pondered for a moment.
"Miss Li mentioned that they met during a blind date!"
"A blind date?" Lu Yu expressed his astonishment.
"Yes, it was yesterday morning…" Yan Yun started to relay the details of her conversation with Li Wanning from the previous night.
After hearing Yan Yun's account, Lu Yu could only shake his head in disbelief.
"Li Wanning's story is so intense?
If she weren't the protagonist heroine,
I would have devoured her!"
He exclaimed.
(Mc seems Hungry for peaches🍑)
A/n :- Dear readers, I welcome your suggestions and feedback in the comments section below. Your support through Power stones will be greatly appreciated.