After thinking for a while, a middle-aged man raised his hand. Sylas smiled and asked, "What special skills do you have? Tell me."
"I studied finance. I'm good at stock trading. I can manage your economy," the man replied.
Sylas couldn't help but laugh. Shaking his head, he said, "Stock trading? Managing the economy? You're thinking too much. Anyone else?"
Although he wasn't impressed with the man's skills, Sylas didn't get angry or kill him. After all, he wasn't a madman. The man, disappointed, returned to his place.
"How about me? I write novels; I'm a web novelist," a scruffy, overweight man asked nervously.
"What do you think?" Sylas replied coldly. A web novelist? How shameless to even mention it?
The fat man felt the killing intent emanating from Sylas and could only sigh and sit back down silently. "It's a pity my ability is useless, or I wouldn't be so looked down upon," he muttered quietly, looking dejected.
He spoke so softly that even those nearby couldn't hear him. But with his super hearing, Sylas caught every word.
"Fatty, you have an ability?" Sylas turned to the fat man, scrutinizing him. No matter how he looked, he couldn't see any sign of an ability in the fat man.
Hearing Sylas's question, the fat man was startled. He hadn't expected Sylas to overhear his muttering. "No, no, I was joking," he quickly replied.
"Joking with me?" Sylas said coldly. He used telekinesis to lift the fat man and bring him to the window, leaving him hovering over the open space below.
"Don't drop me! I'll tell you everything!" The fat man looked down and almost fainted from fear.
"Show me your ability," Sylas demanded.
The fat man hesitated, and Sylas gave a cold smile, pushing him further out of the window.
"Don't! I'll show you my ability!" the fat man cried out in terror. He then began to demonstrate his ability. A cloud of smoke rose from his body, and the fat man transformed into a tiny piglet with a large character for "fat" on its side.
Sylas was stunned by this sight. A living person turning into a pig! This was the first time he had seen such a thing in real life.
Sylas had expected the web novelist's ability to be somewhat useless, but he never imagined the man's power would be to turn himself into a pig. And not just any pig, but a miniature piglet. If he had transformed into a wild boar or a pig-headed monster, Sylas could have understood, as those forms would at least have some combat potential. But what use was a tiny piglet?
Sylas wasn't the only one in shock; the others had similar reactions. No one expected the fat man to turn into a small pig.
"Boss, as you can see, this is my ability. I can turn into a fat pig king," the fat man said, tears streaming down his face.
Awakening an ability was usually a good thing, but awakening such an ability was far from joyful. This was why he had never used his ability before. Once he turned into a pig, he truly became a pig, with no added combat strength. Moreover, as a living creature, he was vulnerable to zombie attacks. If he dared to go outside in his piglet form, he would surely be attacked by zombies.
He had secretly tested this before. The most terrifying part was that they were running low on food. What would happen if a defenseless piglet suddenly appeared in front of a group of starving people? Just imagining that scene made the fat man shiver.
That's why he never dared to show his ability in front of these people. If Sylas hadn't forced him, he wouldn't have revealed his power to him either.
Sylas looked curiously at the "Fat Pig King" in front of him. Other than the "fat" character on its belly, there was nothing that connected this little pig to a "king." Sylas was even more curious about what abilities it had.
"What abilities do you have?" Sylas asked directly. He doubted there was any combat ability, as he couldn't sense any from the piglet.
"After transforming into the Fat Pig King, I can control other pigs. Also, within my living area, the growth and reproduction rates of pigs will increase," the fat man trembled as he spoke.
Sylas was initially stunned, then his expression turned serious. At first, he didn't see much use in these abilities, but upon further consideration, he realized they had great potential. This ability could control wild boars, accelerating their growth and reproduction. The more wild boars there were, the greater his combat strength could become.
However, there was a significant weakness—himself. Even if he had a hundred pigs, Sylas could easily kill them all. Moreover, the fat man was unlucky because there were no pigs around him, only a group of starving people. If he exposed his ability, he wouldn't survive long. While people might hesitate to eat other humans, they would have no qualms about slaughtering and eating a pig.
"Come with me and raise pigs for me in the future," Sylas said casually. The fat man's ability didn't have much other value, but it would be quite useful for raising pigs. While there weren't any conditions for pig farming at the moment, there certainly would be in the future.
"Boss, I'm willing to raise pigs for you," the fat man said excitedly. He knew his ability had finally found a purpose.
"From now on, call me Chief. And if you transform back, you won't be wearing any clothes, right?" Sylas asked.
"Yes, Chief. If I turn back into a human, I won't have any clothes on," the fat man replied, embarrassed. When he transformed into a pig, his clothes fell off, so if he changed back, he'd be naked.
"Then don't transform back. Get on the ship," Sylas ordered. It was just as well that the fat man stayed a pig. His weight was not insignificant—at least 180 pounds. That weight would add to the burden on the ship, but as a pig, he weighed much less, around 20 pounds.
Sylas couldn't understand the principles behind this ability. How could a large human turn into such a small pig? Not only did the shape change, but the weight was also significantly reduced, defying scientific explanation. But Sylas had no intention of delving into this mystery. There were too many bizarre things in this world, and he had no interest in studying them all.
Since there were no other talents among the remaining people, Sylas ignored them and left with the fat man and the others.
"Your name is Verda, right? Where do you live? Let's be clear: if we can't find your family or if they're dead, then I've fulfilled my duty. I won't help you keep searching for your family," Sylas said.
"Alright, we'll do as you say, Chief," Verda quickly responded.
Verda knew that Sylas's approach was the right one. After all, she had been separated from her family for nearly a month and had no idea about their current situation. If something had happened to them, she still had to go on living. Who would willingly choose death if they could survive? Verda certainly didn't want to die.
Under Verda's direction, the iron ship flew towards her family's residence. According to Verda, her family lived in the hospital's residential area, where other doctors also resided. But by now, it was uncertain how many doctors had survived.
Sylas remained calm. There were plenty of hospitals in the city, so he wasn't worried about finding ten doctors.
They soon arrived at Verda's home, located on the fifth floor of a mid-rise building. Sylas sensed something and said, "There are two people in your home."
Sylas couldn't be sure if Verda's family members were still there, but he was certain that there were two living people inside.
Verda exclaimed excitedly, "Chief, are you saying there are two people in my home?"
"Yes, there are two people. Let's go see," Sylas confirmed.
He controlled the iron ship to approach, using telekinesis to break the window and maneuver the ship horizontally into the room. A scream erupted from inside the room, clearly startled by the window breaking.
Verda jumped off the ship and ran into the room, filled with excitement. Sylas didn't stop her, as he had sensed that there was no danger inside.
"Mom!"
"Sis!"
In the room, Verda, her mother, and her sister-in-law were holding each other and crying uncontrollably. Sylas walked in and took a glance, his eyes widening in surprise. The young woman hugging Verda was incredibly beautiful.
"A prime candidate for a slave detected, Emily, rating 94 points."
Emily, so that was her name. Sylas was in a very good mood; he hadn't expected such a fortunate turn of events when he brought Verda back home. Besides Emily, there was also a little girl about seven or eight years old.
The girl's name was Gale, Verda's daughter, and Emily was Verda's sister-in-law, her husband's younger sister. As they talked, Sylas quickly pieced together what had happened.
On the day of the apocalypse, Verda had been at work in the hospital, her husband had gone to his company, and the elderly family members had gone out to buy groceries. The only ones at home were Gale and Emily. Then the disaster struck. The rest of the family never returned, likely having perished outside. Only Emily and Gale survived, relying on the food stored in the house.
They had managed to hold on until now, but without Verda's return, Emily and Gale wouldn't have survived much longer since their food supplies were nearly exhausted.
Verda was deeply saddened by the loss of the rest of her family, but having her daughter alive was the greatest blessing. She didn't dare to hope for more. She quickly introduced Sylas, explaining his identity, and then said to him, "Chief, this is my sister-in-law and my daughter. They are my family. Can they come with us?"
Verda looked at Sylas nervously.
"Yes," Sylas said decisively. He wasn't joking; Emily was a prime candidate for a slave. Even if she didn't want to leave, Sylas would still take her by force. So, when Verda asked, he immediately agreed.
Hearing Sylas's agreement, Verda finally breathed a sigh of relief.