The next morning, the first thing James did after waking up was to take out his phone and dial Zane's number.
He was very concerned about the martial artist who had taught him martial arts in his previous life. This person was highly skilled in martial arts and could not have remained unknown in his previous life; the only explanation was that he had died early in the apocalypse.
Just like Zane, although he could break a mutated dog's neck with his bare hands, he was also bitten by the mutated dog. If he hadn't met James, he would have certainly been doomed.
However, Zane's number didn't connect. James tried several times but with no success.
"I'll try again in the afternoon. First, let's drink some well water," James muttered, putting down the phone. He then concentrated and entered the mysterious space.
James could now draw a whole bucket of well water every day. After watering all twenty-five plots of land, he drank two large bowls of well water himself, feeling a warm current in his body that lasted for over an hour before gradually calming down.
"The urgent task is to quickly promote body evolution and see if the mysterious space can upgrade again," James thought, harboring a hope that during his next evolution, the mysterious space would also evolve. Perhaps the amount of well water he could draw would increase, or the land area would expand, or the space could store living creatures...
"Well water is very effective for refining primal energy, but it doesn't significantly enhance physical strength."
"According to my past experience, the meat of mutated beasts contains a large amount of heterogeneous protein, which can greatly improve physical strength. So, I need to hunt a lot of mutated beasts next."
"This warehouse in the western part of the city has served its purpose. Today, I'll move with my parents to the villa Henry gave us and make it our long-term base."
James quickly made a series of plans while staying in his bedroom. Suddenly, his mother's phone rang in the living room, and a sense of foreboding struck James as past events became clear in his mind.
The call was from his uncle, saying that the medicinal wine James had given him last time worked wonders, and after just one application, his back pain was gone. He also mentioned wanting to bring some food over to James' family.
James knew that in his previous life, his uncle had been killed by a mutated beast while delivering food to his family.
James rushed out of the bedroom, grabbed his mother's phone, and said, "Uncle, the animals outside have gone crazy lately. Please don't come out. We have enough food here."
Seeing James' firm response, his uncle didn't insist, only saying, "We still have plenty of food here. If you run out, just call me, and I'll bring some over."
Listening to his uncle's familiar voice, James made a firm decision, "After moving to the villa area, I need to find a way to get another house and have my grandparents move in."
It wouldn't be long before Lakeside City made a major move—an entire city migration, concentrating everyone near the Green Park neighborhood, with security teams on the outskirts to guard against mutated beasts.
By then, the house prices in Green Park would skyrocket. Therefore, it's important to prepare early. Although James had a place to stay, he still needed to prepare for his grandparents.
James wasn't worried about money. He had food and well water that could cure the X-virus, so getting a house wouldn't be a problem.
"James, an announcement was made today. From now on, Lakeside City will implement a food rationing system," Ms. Carol said as she and Noah did housework.
James nodded at the news. With this, houses and money would become worthless. He thought of Eric and said, "Mom, Dad, money and houses won't be of any use soon. Eric might come to ask for the house back. Don't agree."
Noah and Ms. Carol both nodded. Noah smiled and said, "Even if he wants it back, we have no money to give him. Besides, money is worthless now. If he wants it back, he can figure out how to get some money."
"He wouldn't agree to give the money back. He might even ask you to compensate him with food, at pre-apocalypse prices," James said with a laugh.
Noah shook his head, "That's impossible."
James chuckled. There was nothing Eric wouldn't do. After chatting with his parents and having breakfast, James explained his plans to them and left.
He needed to improve his strength quickly, which meant not only drinking well water but also consuming a lot of mutated beast meat. So, he had to go hunting.
"In my previous life, the boar leader in that pig farm was already dead. Logically, the pig herd should soon have a new boar leader." James drove his pickup into the dense woods.
The pig farm was in the outskirts of the western part of the city. James parked the pickup nearby, then grabbed a steel pipe in one hand and a steel bar in the other, approaching the farm.
The steel pipe was something James had prepared before the apocalypse. Later, he found some steel bars, each about the length of a human arm. He had sharpened one end of each and stored many of them in the mysterious space, ready to use as throwing weapons.
In his previous life, James had a skill with throwing short spears. Now, without short spears, he had to use steel bars as substitutes.
At the entrance of the pig farm, a giant boar was lying on the ground, snoring.
It was in a good mood lately. The boar that used to bully it hadn't returned for a long time. Recently, its growth rate had exceeded that of its siblings, making it the new leader of the area. It led its followers to roam the region, specifically preying on those two-legged creatures for delicious food, enjoying life to the fullest.
At this moment, it was leisurely lying at the farm entrance when its eyes suddenly brightened upon seeing a two-legged creature.
In the new leader boar's memory, these two-legged creatures would always panic and run away upon seeing it, making it easy to catch up and feast.
However, this two-legged creature seemed different today. Instead of running, it was staring at the boar with glowing eyes, wiping its mouth as if it was drooling.
The new leader boar instantly became furious, roaring as it got up, ready to teach this two-legged creature a lesson in the wildest, most brutal way and then eat it.
But just as the boar was about to charge, the two-legged creature moved first, rushing at it with a shout.
A black streak flashed, and a steel bar pierced the boar. The new leader boar saw a figure rush in front of it, thrusting a steel pipe into its body.
The boar felt something flowing out of its body, its strength rapidly fading. Its vision darkened, and finally, it stopped moving altogether.
James patted his hands, pulled the steel pipe from the boar, and with a thought, stored the boar in the mysterious space.
Meanwhile, two kilometers away, a security team was rushing over, led by Emma and a young man named Adam.
"Boss, that was the roar of a mutated boar. Should we go check it out?" Adam asked with a smile.
Emma's face was serious, seemingly hesitant, but the next second, urgent barking was heard, and she said, "Let's go take a look."
At this moment, James had just stored the boar and turned to see himself surrounded by seven or eight mutated dogs.
"Great, extra food," James grinned. Dog meat soup was a delicacy.
With a flick of his wrist, he took out four or five steel bars from the mysterious space, and in a flash, four steel bars pierced through four mutated dogs. James then charged into the remaining dogs with a steel pipe, quickly killing the rest.
The four injured dogs howled in pain and fled into the dense woods.
"Don't run, give me back my steel bars!" James was about to give chase when he heard the sound of an engine.
He stopped, quickly stored the three dead dogs in the mysterious space, and hid in the woods.
"Boss, look out, it's mutated dogs!" Adam suddenly exclaimed as two dogs rushed out of the woods toward them. He raised his rifle to shoot.
But before he could fire, the dogs collapsed with a thud, each pierced by a steel bar.
"Steel... Steel Bar Man?" Adam exclaimed.
Emma's eyes narrowed. "Him again? Who is he, repeatedly hunting mutated animals?"