That young man was clearly in poor health. His legs were weak, and he swayed like an old woman when he walked.
Song Youzhi walked over to lock the large iron gate, looking at his niece with a curious expression. "Ningning, is this a superpower, too?"
Xie Ning extended the sharp spikes on her fingers for them to see up close. "Uncle, like you, Iâve also awakened a superpowerâthe Gold Ability. I used it before on the small platform of the old building. Thatâs how I made the floating ladder."
"Oh." A look of realization dawned on Song Youzhi. "No wonder you were so pale back then. Was it from overusing your superpower?"
Xie Ning nodded slightly.
Song Youâai asked with concern, "Ningning, what happens if you overuse your superpower? Does it affect your body?"
"Itâs alright, Mom. Right now, our superpower level is low and we donât have much energy, so we use it all up in one go."
"Itâs not actually harmful to the body. In fact, depleting your energy completely multiple times can even help you improve faster."
âItâs just that every time I deplete my superpower, the stabbing pain and dizziness in my head are a bit unbearable.â
Song Youzhi stared eagerly at Xie Ning. "Ningning, your Metal Ability looks a lot more useful than mine. Those metal fragments you mentionedâare they really still inside Xiao Huang Maoâs body?"
Xie Ning couldnât help but laugh. "Of course not."
"I was just bluffing," Xie Ning said with a wink.
âIt was just a trick to fool a layman.â
âShe had just awakened her Gold Ability. It was obvious she couldnât be that powerful yet.â
The only reason she could fool Xiao Huang Mao was because she had seen how high-level Gold Ability Users fought in her past life.
âNone of that was the point. The point was, in her past life, she only had a mediocre little Space Ability. To awaken the Gold Element in this life was a huge surprise.â
"Youzhi, youâve awakened a superpower too?"
"Itâs just a common one. A superpower that gives me a bit more strength."
"Thatâs still great!" Song Youâai sounded quite envious of her younger brother. "I still donât have anything."
"Itâs better that you donât, Mom." âThe high fever is just too worrisome.â
âBecause after the high fever, things can go to the other extreme, and thereâs no 100% guarantee of becoming a Superpower User.â
"Youâre right, youâre right. Being safe and sound is a blessing in itself."
Song Youzhi agreed, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right, Ningning. The house at Number 98 that Xiao Huang Mao mentionedâthatâs actually Xiao Zhuâs, Zhu Huizhenâs, in-lawsâ place."
"To generate more income, they secretly added a fifth floor last year. They had at least thirty-some tourists staying there." Song Youzhi frowned. "According to what that Xiao Huang Mao said, Xiao Zhuâs family home has now been taken over by his cousin, Wang Han?"
"Most likely," Xie Ning nodded slightly.
Thatâs how it is in the apocalypse. Might makes right; itâs an indisputable fact.
However, people like Wang Han, who could react so quickly right at the start of the apocalypse, were among the particularly clever ones.
"But isnât that just forcibly occupying a private residence!" Song Youzhi said indignantly. "Do these outsiders really think thereâs no one left in Song Family Pavilion?"
"Uncle, situations like this are only going to become more and more common."
As the three of them were talking, a series of ghastly wails came from outside.
"It sounds like itâs coming from Old Liâs house, across from us." Song Youzhi turned and ran to the gate. Peeking through the latticed iron, he couldnât help but exclaim in a low voice, "Oh no, this is bad! Ningning, come take a look."
Xie Ning and Song Youâai followed him, one after the other.
They saw that the front door of the neighborâs house, directly across from their grandmotherâs home, was wide open.
A young man and woman stumbled out of the doorway, and the notebooks and pens they were holding scattered across the ground.