Park Su hadn't anticipated Xu Nuo would suggest such a condition. He thought about his stored supplies, which were enough for now, and cooking three meals a day for Xu Nuo wouldn't be too much trouble since he had to cook for himself anyway. He couldn't argue against it, especially since without Xu Nuo's space ring, he wouldn't be able to store so much food.
However, Park Su was well aware that this chaotic world would persist for many years; at least in his past life, it hadn't ended when he died. In the early stages, supplies were easier to come by, but as time went on, they would become increasingly scarce, and food would become one of the most critical resources. Thus, its price would only rise year after year. He could afford to provide for Xu Nuo for a year or two, given his current abundance of food, but the contents of a six-square-meter space wouldn't last indefinitely. If it went on for too long, he might end up like he did in his past life, becoming someone who fed others like an idiot. And Xu Nuo said he would eat until he was tired of it, but who knew when that would be? He didn't want to be stuck feeding someone for life.
He truly didn't want to exert himself to provide for another man, especially not knowing if Xu Nuo would turn out to be another Sun Muyang. Thinking about how he had been running around like a fool in his past life, only to meet such an end, made him feel irritated. He definitely didn't want to repeat that mistake.
However, in his concern about having to support someone, he overlooked that Xu Nuo wasn't Sun Muyang and didn't need his support. Instead, Xu Nuo's abilities might help him gain more supplies.
Xu Nuo suggested this condition because, firstly, he genuinely found Park Su's cooking to his taste, and secondly, because before he passed out, he heard Park Su mention wanting to team up with him to go somewhere.
If he suggested following Park Su because he needed him to cook, it would be tantamount to agreeing to go with him. He had no real goal now; his master was either dead or hiding somewhere unknown, and even if he was alive, Xu Nuo didn't feel the need to worry about him.
He thought his condition was very generous, solving the issue of Park Su's invitation to join him at the base and also keeping Xu Nuo indebted for being saved. Such good deeds were not something he usually did proactively, but Park Su had left a good impression on him, prompting this offer. However, seeing Park Su hesitate, Xu Nuo felt a bit displeased.
So, he said quite coldly, "What, you feel wronged about cooking for me? You should know there are plenty of people who would jump at the chance to cook for me, and I wouldn't even accept."
This statement snapped Park Su out of his thoughts, and he couldn't help but retort in his mind, "Then go find those people who want to cook for you. Why stick with me?"
He sighed and persuaded, "It's not that cooking for you is a problem, but my supplies aren't endless, right? I can't keep supplying you. As I mentioned earlier, I'm just a weak, homebound guy; killing zombies or finding supplies isn't my forte. Are you sure you want to rely on me for meals? I'm worried I might only be able to feed you sporadically, and then you'll complain that my cooking isn't satisfying... Maybe you should ask for something else?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Nuo realized what Park Su was worried about. It was the fear of him freeloading. Xu Nuo hadn't actually planned on doing so, but seeing Park Su's cautious demeanor, he couldn't resist teasing him further, "You say you're a weak, homebound guy, incapable of killing zombies, but if I recall correctly, didn't you save me from a horde of zombies? And I don't believe a weak, homebound guy could retrieve the talisman I left on the car from a zombie encirclement."
Park Su wasn't embarrassed by Xu Nuo's words because his attention was completely drawn by the mention of the talisman. Remembering its seemingly miraculous effects, he couldn't help but ask eagerly, "Where did you get that talisman from? It's pretty awesome! Do you have more?"
Xu Nuo hadn't expected Park Su's mind to jump so quickly, especially since he hadn't settled the previous matter, and now he was looking at him with sparkling eyes, which made Xu Nuo find it amusing. He responded with a dismissive tone, "Even if I had more, what could you do? Buy them? Don't forget you still owe me a huge debt, and in my book, you're someone with bad credit. Do you think I'd sell you talismans?"
Park Su realized the conversation had circled back to the starting point and drooped his head. "When will you ever get tired of my cooking? This condition is too vague. What if you stick with me for life? Then I'd be selling myself for 1.5 million just to work for you. Besides, it's not like I'm refusing to pay the 1.5 million; you're the one who doesn't want it, aren't you? That's not fair at all! At least I saved your life, right?"
"When did I say I don't want the 1.5 million? I'm just saying you can pay me back with cooking. As for when I'll get tired of your cooking, it's only been the first meal, and you're already asking me that? Don't you think that's putting me in a difficult position?" Xu Nuo found Park Su's reaction increasingly endearing and couldn't help but continue teasing him.
Park Su felt he was no match for Xu Nuo in this verbal spar, so he said with great frustration, "Then I can only do my best, but if the food isn't to your liking, don't complain." He thought to himself, I'll make you eat vegetarian for ten days or half a month, let's see if you can handle it. At least he could grow vegetables quickly, so he wouldn't lack them.
Xu Nuo hadn't expected Park Su to give in so quickly, but seeing the sparkle in his eyes, he knew Park Su was definitely plotting something. However, Xu Nuo wasn't too concerned; he had no intention of freeloading, but he was curious to see what Park Su had in mind, so he didn't press further.
Meanwhile, as Park Su was tidying up, he suddenly remembered another reason he had come upstairs, which was to see what kind of ability Xu Nuo had awakened. However, in the end, he ended up negotiating his own terms. Thinking about it, he felt quite frustrated.
This, however, brought up another issue in his mind. If Xu Nuo had awakened an ability, he was now an ability user. If it was an offensive ability, Park Su could overpower him in the early stages and make him follow his plan, but as time went on, the limitations of his support-type ability would become evident.
Would he still be able to go to the B base according to his own will? After all, the journey from S base to B base wasn't short, with several smaller bases along the way. Who knew if Xu Nuo would suddenly want to stay at one of them? It wouldn't matter if he stayed, but what if he tried to make Park Su stay with him?
Regardless, Park Su was determined to go to the B base since his mother was there. Given his identity, he could imagine that his mother's life there was not easy. He had sworn to take his mother away and give her a good life to make up for the regrets of his past life.
Therefore, he thought it best to address this issue politely before resorting to force. After all, Xu Nuo was still somewhat of a Daoist, and anyone who could produce two space rings and that talisman on his car must have some real skills. Even if Xu Nuo didn't have these abilities himself, there must be someone backing him.
And Park Su couldn't deny that he was interested in meeting that expert, even if just to show respect. So, after a brief hesitation, he decided to discuss this with Xu Nuo, "I know you're technically my creditor now, and I've agreed to cook for you until you're tired of it, but I have my own plans and places I must go. If you decide I should cook for you, then you might as well come with me. Wherever I am, there will be food, and you won't go without.
However, if our paths diverge, if you have somewhere you want to go or stay, and I don't want to go there or stay, I hope you won't force me. Of course, I'll find another way to pay off the remaining debt. If you don't want to come with me from the start, you can say so now. While I can't give you the 1.5 million right away, I believe something that can replace money will eventually appear in this world, and I'll try my best to give you its equivalent. That way, you don't lose out, and neither do I. What do you think?"
Xu Nuo hadn't expected Park Su to have thought so much in the time it took to turn around. He looked quite serious, a stark contrast to his earlier silly demeanor, resembling the solemnity he had when killing zombies. It seemed this matter was of great importance to him.
Xu Nuo didn't have anywhere else he particularly wanted to go. The only person he had some attachment to was his old master, who had disappeared before the apocalypse, making it unlikely for Xu Nuo to find him even if he wanted to. Besides, his master's abilities were on par with his own, so there was no need for concern.
This was why life on the mountain had become somewhat dull. However, he found human interaction troublesome, so finding someone who was pleasing to the eye and cooked well was a rare treat. Since he wasn't really after the 1.5 million, and he owed Park Su for saving his life, going out with him could be an opportunity to improve his Daoist skills in this new world.
Since Park Su had something he cared about and a place he needed to go, and he explicitly stated he wouldn't force Xu Nuo to follow if he wanted to leave, yet still promised to repay the debt with something that would be valuable in this world, overall, there was no loss to Xu Nuo's interests.
Moreover, Park Su's words clearly conveyed that he didn't want to give up his freedom over this debt, nor would he restrict Xu Nuo's freedom. This aspect was quite to Xu Nuo's liking, so he dropped his playful teasing and simply said, "Alright."
Though he was curious about where Park Su wanted to go, he considered it a private matter and didn't ask. He would find out in due time since he planned to follow Park Su for now.
Seeing Xu Nuo agree, Park Su felt relieved and then asked, "What kind of ability did you awaken?" To prevent misunderstanding, he added, "After all, we'll be partners going forward, and it would be helpful to know each other's abilities for better cooperation. I'll go first; I have a wood-based ability." As he spoke, he opened his hand, circulating his wood energy, and soon his hand was covered with a faint green glow.
Xu Nuo, with his strong sensitivity to spiritual energy, which was why he had achieved such high levels in Daoist arts at a young age that even his master thought there was little left to teach him, could immediately sense a strong life force from the green energy Park Su emitted.
He had sensed changes in the spiritual energy in the air even before the apocalypse, and after his fever, a new stream of spiritual energy appeared within his body, distinct from his own Daoist cultivation energy. He had experimented with this new energy, unsure of its impact on his existing spiritual energy.
More importantly, he knew that Park Su, the young man before him, had never practiced Daoism, so there shouldn't have been any spiritual energy flowing within him. However, it seemed the external changes in spiritual energy allowed some people to possess and utilize it without cultivation. He wondered if these changes in the air's spiritual energy were related to the current issues with human bodies.
Hearing Park Su refer to this energy as a "wood-based ability" made Xu Nuo raise an eyebrow. Were there different classifications for spiritual energy now? He didn't answer Park Su's question immediately but instead raised his hand, circulating the new spiritual energy within him, trying to concentrate it in his hand. However, unlike Park Su, there was no distinctive color change on his hand.
He frowned slightly, "I can't tell what ability I've awakened. I'll need to spend some time researching it."
Park Su, having spent six years in the apocalypse, knew that there were many types of abilities, especially some special ones that were not apparent until they were triggered. He had learned that these special abilities often proved to be more powerful than common ones in real combat scenarios.
Although Park Su didn't see a color change in Xu Nuo's hand, he felt the flow of ability energy, confirming that Xu Nuo had indeed awakened an ability, and it was likely a unique one.
This piqued Park Su's interest in Xu Nuo's ability even more. When Xu Nuo mentioned needing time to research his own ability, Park Su quickly offered to leave him undisturbed and headed downstairs.
After Park Su left, a spark of curiosity flashed in Xu Nuo's eyes as he began further investigating the effects of this new energy. When he started circulating his original spiritual energy, he found that the new energy also moved, absorbing external spiritual energy. It didn't seem to negatively affect his own cultivation, but it wasn't easy to merge either, which was unsettling.
It felt as though an uncertain element had been planted in his body. Even if this new energy could bring him other benefits, he didn't like it, especially considering that many people had turned into zombies because of these changes. Who knew what these changes might bring or how they might affect his own cultivation in the future?
However, Xu Nuo wasn't about to stop using this new energy just because of these concerns. He understood that many things are dangerous because they are unknown, but once you understand them, they might seem less formidable and could even be utilized.