Dylan poured out some wine for everyone to drink and calm their nerves!
As they sipped their wine, Dylan took out the crystals they obtained today and counted them. Not too many, not too few, exactly 300.
"Here, 10 crystals for each person. Absorb them quickly after dinner!" Dylan handed out the divided crystals to the two.
This time, Alberta and Dorothy didn't refuse. They knew Dylan was decisive, so they followed his arrangements.
This way, the time energy of the three of them would all break through the 20-year mark, and their strength would improve.
Encountering those zombie dogs again would be much easier to handle. Of course, they still needed to avoid being overwhelmed.
Dylan regretted a bit; if they had absorbed the crystals as soon as they obtained them, they wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.
You see, nowadays, people with 100 years of time energy were almost nonexistent because many people hadn't communicated with each other yet, and they didn't know how time energy transferred.
Even if they killed zombies and found crystals, they wouldn't know how to use them.
Dylan remembered that in his past life, it took a whole month before he learned about the function and usage of time energy from others.
As for who discovered it first, that's unknown.
So, he had to cherish the current opportunity. This was an information gap, and he had to make good use of it to reap some benefits.
After dinner, the three of them each absorbed all the crystals.
The moment their time energy broke through the hundred-year mark, the three of them felt a tremor in their bodies, sensing a huge change within them.
It felt like they had endless strength, their skin became smoother, and their senses sharpened.
In the end, Dylan's time was locked at over 325 years, Alberta's at 20 years, and Dorothy's also at 20 years.
"Alright! Let's rest early today. Tomorrow, we'll go visit the flute-playing woman's villa first thing in the morning. Today, she helped us, so we should express our gratitude.
It wouldn't be bad to let her join us if she's willing!" Dylan expressed his thoughts to the two.
Alberta and Dorothy nodded in agreement.
This night was very quiet!
The next morning, the three of them were full of energy. Dorothy fried three chicken legs and made a pot of sea cucumber soup.
After enjoying a hearty breakfast, they armed themselves and headed towards the flute-playing woman's villa.Passing by the villa where yesterday's battle took place, Dylan extracted the crystals from the brains of the killed zombie dogs.
Animal crystals were different from human ones; they were spherical and entirely black. Dylan called them "core crystals."
These core crystals couldn't convert time energy, but they could enhance human abilities.
These crystals were graded, generally having nine levels. The difference in levels was indicated by the golden stars on the crystals: one star represented level one, two stars level two, and so on.
However, regular animal zombie cores were starless, unless they were some mutated variants.
For instance, in Dylan's previous life, he accidentally obtained a six-star core, which elevated his spatial ability to level 5 completion, just one step away from level 6.
Why it didn't reach level 6 was because the core was slightly flawed.
Animal core crystals could be consumed directly, unlike human crystals, which required more complex procedures.
Oddly enough, despite being so hard, these cores were most afraid of saliva and stomach acid; once ingested, they slowly dissolved, similar to sugar.
Of course, Dylan couldn't eat these crystals now; without stars, they had no effect on his abilities.
Ten one-star core crystals could elevate an ability from level 1 to level 2, while ten two-star core crystals could raise it to level 3.
Of course, 100 one-star core crystals could also boost an ability from level 2 to level 3.
Thus, Dylan's spatial ability was already at 99.9% completion of level 5; he just needed a four-star core to break through to level 6.
However, four-star cores were definitely found on four-star mutated variants, which Dylan couldn't defeat with his current strength.
At least a time energy exceeding 1000 years would be needed to confront a four-star mutated variant.
Dylan looked at the crystals in his hand; these could be left for Little Coal Ball to eat. For animals, these were excellent nutrients for growth and enhancement of abilities.
After storing the crystals, Dylan, accompanied by Alberta and Dorothy, arrived at the villa where the flute-playing woman resided.
The villa's gate was open, and the snow in front was messy, filled with many dog paw prints, clearly the work of the zombie dogs from yesterday.
The three of them quietly entered the courtyard and spotted two zombie dogs: a mongrel and a Pekingese.
Dylan felt annoyed seeing the tiny Pekingese that couldn't even match his boots. You little thing, dare to mess with me?
Feeling angered at the sight of them, Dylan pulled out his magic sword and swiftly dealt with them with two slashes.
After checking the courtyard and confirming it was safe, the three entered the villa.
There were no zombies on the ground floor or in the basement. Dylan directly headed to the second floor.He remembered that the flute-playing woman was on the second floor yesterday.
On the second floor, only one room was closed, and there were a zombie Golden Retriever and a middle-aged zombie wandering at the entrance.
Without hesitation, Dylan went up and dealt with them, while Dorothy swiftly retrieved the crystals and core crystals.
After confirming there were no zombies, Dylan knocked on the door.
"Hello! Is anyone there?" Dylan asked tentatively.
"Who's there?" A cautious female voice came from inside, seemingly the same woman from yesterday.
"Hello, we're the ones who were besieged by zombie dogs yesterday. We've come today specifically to thank you!" Dylan said sincerely.
After a moment, the door opened a crack, and a woman with messy hair peeked out. Seeing Dylan followed by two women, she fully opened the door.
Dylan carefully observed the woman in front of him. She was wrapped in a blanket and held a flute in her left hand.
Though her face looked weary, it was still evident that she was a very elegant beauty.
When the flute-playing woman saw Alberta, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Alberta?!"
Alberta was stunned at being called, and after taking a closer look at her, she exclaimed in delight, "Jodie?!"
Dylan and Dorothy were also surprised. How could they encounter an acquaintance here?
Jodie joyfully exclaimed, "Seeing you is such a relief, Alberta."
Alberta hurried forward and hugged Jodie. "Jodie, you're alive! It's wonderful!"
Despite Alberta wearing thick clothes and Jodie wrapped in a blanket, they couldn't bring their heads close together, making Dylan feel quite amused.
"Alberta, who is she?" Dylan asked curiously.
Alberta quickly let go of Jodie and turned to Dylan, saying, "Oh, let me introduce you. This is my college roommate and also my good friend, Jodie."
Dylan and Dorothy quickly greeted Jodie.
"Hello, Miss Jodie!" Dorothy greeted with a smile.
"Hello, Miss Jodie. Thank you for your help yesterday!" Dylan said with a smile.
Jodie glanced at Dylan and Dorothy, then asked Alberta, "Who are these two?"
"Oh! Let me introduce you. He's Dylan, my... my boyfriend!" Alberta introduced Dylan with a hint of shyness. After all, they had only confirmed their relationship not long ago, and she felt a bit embarrassed to let others know.
Upon hearing Alberta's introduction, Jodie widened her eyes in disbelief and scrutinized Dylan from head to toe.
"Oh my goodness, Alberta, when did you get a boyfriend? Why didn't I know?"