Hearing Park Su's voice, the two men turned to look at him. One of them, with a more amicable appearance, immediately smiled, "Hello, we're ability users living nearby, you could say we're your neighbors. We've wanted to come over to greet you since you moved in, but we've been delayed until today. We felt the change in spiritual energy in the air when we came, thought someone inside might be breaking through, and figured it might be inappropriate to barge in, so we waited here."
Park Su hadn't expected them to directly mention Xu Nuo's breakthrough. Although they appeared straightforward and not malicious, the timing of their arrival was too coincidental for him to fully trust them.
He furrowed his brow, maintaining a polite tone, "I'm afraid today is not convenient for visitors. If you don't mind, please come back another day."
He knew Xu Nuo's personality well; Xu Nuo would definitely not be keen on visiting others. So, he suggested they could come back if they had business, knowing he wouldn't go alone without Xu Nuo, as Xu Nuo once remarked that Park Su was too naive to handle human interactions, better suited for dealing with zombies.
The three years after the apocalypse had changed him profoundly, and some habits lingered. For instance, he was always cautious around ability users with strong offensive powers, feeling an unwarranted sense of retreat. He also tended to be overly grateful and trusting when people showed kindness towards him.
After all, in the three years post-apocalypse, those who would speak to him were mostly support ability users; those with strong offensive abilities often acted superior and wouldn't speak to him cordially.
Fortunately, the man didn't take offense to Park Su's dismissal and continued with a smile, "Alright then, we'll leave for now. But with such a commotion from your friend, it might soon attract the attention of others in the villa area. You should prepare yourselves. Not everyone would welcome a new powerhouse suddenly appearing; it could disrupt their current way of life."
After saying this, he nodded to Park Su, then politely led the colder-looking man away.
Park Su, reflecting on the man's words, felt he had no ill intent, but watching their unhesitating departure, he pondered the implications of what was said. The villa area seemed more complex than he had thought.
From what he could recall, Xu Nuo had mentioned that there weren't many residents here but had also warned that some might have abilities on par with his, advising him not to wander off.
Now, hearing this from these two strangers, Park Su began to worry. Given the commotion Xu Nuo's breakthrough was causing, he wasn't sure if he had the ability to protect Xu Nuo until it was completed. He quickly locked the door and hurried upstairs to check on Xu Nuo's condition.
After the two men had walked some distance away, the taller one in black said to the man in white, "He was so unwelcoming, and you still gave him advice."
The man in white smiled, "The person inside is already a powerhouse, and the one who spoke to us likely has abilities not inferior to ours. Besides, if someone visited you during your breakthrough, you'd be on guard too. I'm offering them a favor to build a good relationship for the future. After all, everyone in this villa area is closely watching each other.
And since you're on the brink of a breakthrough, I don't want any mishaps. Helping them now means when you break through, and they come for tea, at least they won't be against us even if they don't support us."
The man in black looked at him with affection, "You, always thinking three steps ahead, aren't you tired? My breakthrough will take at least another two weeks. Are you sure they'll still be here?"
The white-clothed man, Ge Qing, wrapped his arm around Lu Shang's, "Anything I do for us, I don't find tiring. Whether they'll stay here or not, we'll see when the time comes. At least, I'm preparing for the possibility, right?"
Lu Shang looked at him with fondness, "As long as you're doing what you think is right, Ge Qing, thank you!"
Ge Qing laughed, "If you keep looking at me like that, Lu Shang, I might just kiss you."
And with that, Lu Shang pulled him close, pressing his lips to Ge Qing's, and they kissed passionately on the main road of the villa, completely oblivious to their surroundings.
Meanwhile, Park Su, driven by concern for Xu Nuo, stood at Xu Nuo's door, only to find it tightly shut. The closer he got, the denser the spiritual energy felt. He frowned deeply, knowing this was a critical moment for Xu Nuo's breakthrough and that he shouldn't disturb him, yet he was more anxious than ever, no longer in the mood for training, determined to stay and guard Xu Nuo.
He hoped everything would remain peaceful until Xu Nuo's breakthrough was complete, but his hope was to be in vain.
Barely two hours had passed when he heard loud, urgent knocking at the door, the sound so aggressive and impolite that it made Park Su frown. This didn't match the polite behavior of the two men he had just seen, so he suspected it wasn't them. Recalling their warning, he guessed it might be other ability users from the villa who were not particularly welcoming to newcomers.
Park Su thought it might not be wise to check directly, especially since he had installed a solar-powered generator on the second day, which allowed him to view the situation outside via the door camera. He saw three men standing there, varying in height, weight, and build, but their appearance didn't compare to the two he had met earlier, and their attitudes seemed far from friendly, exuding impatience and hostility.
Seeing their behavior, Park Su felt a twinge of irritation. Now, as a third-level wood-type ability user, dealing with one or two ordinary people shouldn't be an issue, and even three second-level ability users should be manageable, especially with Green Vine by his side.
However, he was wary. If he went out, would someone sneak in to attack Xu Nuo during his breakthrough? And if he dealt with these three, would others come seeking revenge, creating an endless cycle of trouble?
His thoughts were overly cautious when it came to Xu Nuo's safety. Although Xu Nuo had placed isolation talismans on the windows, their effectiveness seemed diminished, as Park Su could feel the spiritual energy even just standing at the door. These three must have sensed the change in abilities to come here.
He wasn't sure if they were just probing or here to cause trouble. If it were just him, he wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson, but with Xu Nuo to consider, he had to think twice. After all, Xu Nuo had been protecting him since they started collecting resources, even allowing him to break through first.
Now, it was his turn to protect Xu Nuo, and he wanted to avoid any complications or disturbances that could affect Xu Nuo's breakthrough. However, just ignoring these three wasn't an option, especially since they weren't the type to leave just because they were ignored. He didn't have Xu Nuo's gift of gab to deceive them.
Deciding to probe their intentions first, he figured the arrays Xu Nuo had set up in the yard and his own wood-type abilities would suffice. If they attacked first, he wouldn't mind trapping them in the array or, if necessary, dealing with them permanently. Above all, Xu Nuo's safety came first.
With this in mind, he went downstairs and shouted from the yard entrance, "What do you want? We're not in a position to receive guests right now. If it's not something urgent, please come back in a couple of days, and we'll welcome you then. Please leave for now."
The three men outside were already irritated from knocking. In their view, in this post-apocalyptic world, their ability levels were far superior to most. Moreover, even when encountering others with similar abilities, they could still come out on top thanks to their numbers.
Thus, within this villa area, they formed their own little group. They even divided hunting zones for zombies because they discovered that the cores inside zombie brains could aid in their cultivation. They also sensed that the stronger the zombie, the higher the energy they could absorb from its core.
They weren't aware of the situation outside their immediate area, but around the villa zone, second-tier zombies had begun to appear. The cores from these second-tier zombies were on a completely different level from the white cores of first-tier ones.
However, these second-tier zombies were much harder to deal with than the first-tier ones; they were faster, had greater joint flexibility, were more lethal, and their bones were harder to cut through, making them far from easy to deal with. Thus, they often went out hunting in groups of three to five, sharing the zombie cores afterward.