Chapter 73: I’ll Help Him Train

The two of them went downstairs. Lin Mu was also part of the group and should be under his protection.

Downstairs, He Ze had just returned, slumped in a chair, hugging a bowl of braised beef noodles.

“Wuwuwu, Mumu, I’m dying. I don’t even have the strength to make instant noodles.” As soon as he saw Lin Mu come down, He Ze immediately began to complain, “Please, don’t send me there tomorrow. I really can’t take even one more day of this.”

“What did you do today?” Lin Mu took the instant noodles from He Ze’s hands and turned to the kitchen to prepare them for him. Fu Jingmo also grabbed a bowl and followed him.

Hot water could only be boiled in a pot, so Lin Mu turned on the induction cooker and started heating the water.

“!! Today, that Dr. Slicer almost drained me dry! Ah, not in that way—I mean, I was completely exhausted, not even a drop left!”

“He almost broke my ability! He made me shoot water at an iron plate, and he wouldn’t let me off until I could pierce through it!”

Feeling that complaining from the sofa lacked impact, He Ze got up, stepped onto the sofa, and then one foot on the coffee table, hands on his hips.

“So, did you manage to pierce it in the end?”

He Ze coughed sheepishly. “Well, you know, not quite, but I did make a small dent in the iron plate! Damn, I’m awesome! If that were a zombie’s head, I’d definitely pierce through it!”

“Looks like it’s working pretty well. You can continue tomorrow.”

He Ze, having failed in his complaint, stomped hard on the coffee table, about to say something more when a cool voice interrupted.

“Could you move away a bit? You’re about to step on my talisman and ruin it!”

Shen Rangchen eyed the spot where He Ze’s foot was, as if ready to take action if He Ze pressed further.

He Ze glanced down at his foot, and snorted, “Stingy cat.”

As soon as he said that, a small talisman suddenly flew onto He Ze’s forehead. Shen Rangchen said calmly, “Freeze.”

The arrogant He Ze was immediately frozen in place, unable to move or even make a sound.

“…”

Lin Mu found it quite amusing—it was rather peaceful without all the noise.

The water in the pot boiled, and he picked up the pot, pouring the hot water into He Ze and Fu Jingmo’s instant noodle bowls. He also tossed in two sausages for each of them and casually fried a few eggs.

Once everything was ready, he handed a bowl to Fu Jingmo and carried the other bowl over to the sofa.

He Ze looked furious, drooling as he mumbled incoherently with his mouth frozen shut.

“Rangchen, let him eat.”

Without even looking up, Shen Rangchen waved his hand, retracting the talisman from He Ze’s forehead.

He Ze immediately burst out, “I $#@&…%&@*…&@…&%…@&”

Lin Mu quickly shoved a mouthful of noodles into He Ze’s mouth. “Just eat.”

The instant noodles managed to silence He Ze. “Tomorrow, I’ll go with you.”

Before He Ze could respond, Fu Jingmo sat down across from them. “What are you going for?”

“I don’t have any basic combat skills, and the vines aren’t reaching their full potential in my hands. Plus, my stamina is too weak—I need more training.”

After today, Lin Mu understood that Fu Jingmo would definitely go to deal with the mutated zombie at the Cross-River Bridge. Before that happens, Lin Mu wanted to improve himself as much as possible. Not only that, but he also needed to find more opportunities to go out and let Xiao Yuan absorb some energy.

The energy gained from killing zombies was simply too little, and Lin Mu couldn’t help but feel anxious about how to make the storage sphere grow faster.

In comparison, enhancing his stamina and combat skills might be quicker, or perhaps he could gain new insights from Dr. Ji.

Fu Jingmo raised his eyebrow, and his cold, sharp eyes showed a fleeting, unreadable expression. “I’ll train you. That Dr. Ji’s skills are nothing but mediocre.”

“…”

Lin Mu didn’t mind. He was well aware of Fu Jingmo’s capabilities, and with his training, Lin Mu would certainly improve much faster.

It was settled. Lin Mu got up and went back to his room.

Fu Jingmo raised his leg and kicked He Ze. “What’s up with Lin Mu?”

He Ze’s body tilted, but he quickly grabbed onto his bowl of instant noodles, looking frustrated but not daring to complain. After thinking for a while, he said, “I don’t know, but he definitely doesn’t look happy.”

Fu Jingmo nodded. “I thought so too.”

“…”

He Ze quickly slurped down the rest of his noodles and set the bowl on the table. “Clean up after you’re done eating!”

With that, he hurriedly ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. The two of them slept peacefully that night.

The next day, as planned, they went to Ji Huaizhi’s place. He had set aside an area in the safe zone as a training base, which used to be an indoor tennis court.

Since everyone was going, Shen Rangchen naturally joined as well.

As the four of them entered the training base, they saw that the tennis court had been divided into two distinct areas: one completely sealed off with glass, and the other the original tennis court. It seemed likely that the sealed area was for abilities that were toxic or required specific testing conditions.

Seeing them arrive, Ji Huaizhi was clearly in a good mood. After all, the most common abilities in the safe zone were strength mutations, along with others like speed and enhanced vision.

To have a few research subjects with such unique abilities at once was like a holiday treat.

Of course, what interested him the most was Lin Mu. No matter how extraordinary Fu Jingmo’s abilities were, they followed the same pattern as other mutants, in terms of both advancement and enhancement. Besides, why would Fu Jingmo need his training? He probably understood better than anyone how to utilize his own abilities.

But Lin Mu was different—so far, he was the only plant fusion ability user Ji Huaizhi had seen.

Moreover, it was very unique, completely distinct from other types of fusion. A sixteenfold energy concentration; how much more combat advantage could that bring? And the ability to heal wounds rapidly—it was unimaginable.

Having no way to avoid it, He Ze resigned himself to training in front of the same steel plate as yesterday. Lin Mu glanced over and noted that yesterday’s training had indeed been effective; at least He Ze had learned to concentrate his power into a water jet, turning it into a lethal weapon.

Ji Huaizhi, dressed in a white lab coat with his hands in his pockets, walked over, eyeing Lin Mu like he was a delicious piece of braised meat.

“Lin Mu, you’re here. I asked Wen Tang about your ability—vine whip??”

Ji Huaizhi had distinct features, quite striking and recognizable, possibly hinting at some foreign heritage with his deep-set facial features. However, his extremely pale complexion often overshadowed his handsome looks.

“Yeah, vine whip, but it can absorb energy from zombies…” 

Lin Mu wanted to know how to obtain more energy, so he decided to share a bit of information with Ji Huaizhi.

“Hmm, Lin Mu, would you be willing to let me take a small sample?” Ji Huaizhi’s curiosity was insatiable, though this time, he was eyeing Xiao Yuan.

From behind Lin Mu, Fu Jingmo shot a sharp glare in Ji Huaizhi’s direction.

…

“I need to think about it. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

Recalling Xiao Yuan’s delicate and temperamental nature, Lin Mu figured it would probably whip Ji Huaizhi right on the forehead.

“Alright, then for today, we’ll start with some physical training, and then we’ll test the strength and data of your vine whip.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll have someone train with you, perhaps a strength mutant who’s skilled in combat,” Ji Huaizhi said, glancing at the people in the training area. He reached out, about to point at one of them.

“No need, I’ll train him.”

Fu Jingmo stepped forward, grabbed Lin Mu by the arm, and led him into the training area.

…

As he watched their backs, Ji Huaizhi’s expression turned intrigued. He then looked over at the only person left, Shen Rangchen.

“Should I train with you?”