Chapter 34: A Formidable Spatial Gift

Little Ruke was sleeping soundly, smacking her lips from time to time with a trail of drool running down her chin. Before long, both women were up. Liu Shiyun took out some bread, pastries, snacks, and water from her storage space.

"Shiyun, you should absorb these Tier 1 cores," Lin Yu said, handing her ten crystals. He had decided on this last night. He was going to hunt the Zombie King today and couldn't bring the two of them along, so he needed them to have the means to protect themselves.

"I don't want them. Dealing with the Zombie King is dangerous today; you’ll be safest if you reach Tier 1 yourself," Liu Shiyun refused without a second thought.

"You have to trust me. Even without reaching Tier 1, I don't fear the Zombie King. Besides, I can try to swindle a few more from 'Big Brother Moist' when I meet him in a bit."

If Big Brother Moist could hear this, he would surely fly into a rage. *You shameless brat! How dare you keep picking on me to fleece!*

"The battle today will be dangerous. I can't take you with me, and I won't be at ease leaving you two here unprotected."

"But..."

"No buts. You have to believe in me!" Lin Yu looked at her earnestly. He had his own plans. If he didn't reach Tier 1 now, he would see if he could squeeze a few more cores out of Big Brother Moist later; even if he couldn't, his current attributes were enough to hold his own. Moreover, his Dragon Flame state had awakened, which would make him even stronger.

"It is precisely because you two lack the strength to protect yourselves that you would become my weakness. Only when you become strong will I have no worries behind me," Lin Yu stated solemnly.

Liu Shiyun gazed at him, infatuated. After a long moment, she finally spoke: "Alright, I'll listen to you. I will never become your burden."

"When you advance to Tier 1, your internal spatial talent will begin to shift. You must observe carefully and see if you can take this opportunity to unlock other spatial abilities." Lin Yu gave her some pointers and taught her how to perceive the fluctuations of space.

With everything ready, Liu Shiyun picked up the Tier 1 cores and began to absorb them. As the energy flowed into her, her aura slowly climbed. The space around her body began to flicker in and out, a sign that her internal spatial talent was stirring and transforming.

Liu Shiyun absorbed the energy very slowly, as she was trying to capture the flow and shifts of space during the process. It was a difficult and lengthy ordeal. The cores vanished one by one, but she still felt as if something was missing—she felt she had grasped something, yet it remained just out of reach.

As the final core was completely absorbed, Liu Shiyun’s body jolted. A vast surge of energy rose up, and the space around her began to vibrate violently. In that instant, she finally found that elusive feeling. Riding the waves created by her breakthrough, she had gained a sudden insight.

As the flickering fluctuations around her settled, she slowly opened her eyes, brimming with joy.

"Did you figure it out?"

"Yes, let me show you." In that moment, she was like a student who had scored top of her class, eager to share the success with the one she loved. Liu Shiyun snapped her fingers toward the wardrobe.

*Snap!*

The space there seemed to freeze, then rippled like water before suddenly shattering into pieces. The entire wardrobe was torn into shards.

"I call this move 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon'," Liu Shiyun said.

"First you solidify space, then you shatter it. Those are actually two separate abilities. Very impressive," Lin Yu remarked. "By the way, your stats shouldn't be weak, seeing as you have an S-rank spatial talent."

"They should be a bit better than the average person. When I awakened my spatial talent, my Strength increased by 50 points, Magic by 5,000, and my other attributes by 30 each."

"S-rank talents are indeed powerful. Your stats are far superior to ordinary evolved ones. Now that you've advanced and doubled them, and with your new attack move, you can be considered quite strong," Lin Yu said with a smile.

"Let me show you my stats." Liu Shiyun displayed her status window to Lin Yu.

【Codename: Unnamed】
【Level: Tier 1, Level 0】
【Magic: 22,600】
【Strength: 326】
【Constitution: 168】
【Speed: 168】
【Spirit: 170】
【Talent: S-rank Infinite Space】

These were standard stats for a powerful S-rank awakened individual; it looked like she hadn't consumed any attribute fruits. However, she was clearly much stronger than that "S-rank Magic Seal" user, Wang Hao, whom they had encountered earlier. Lin Yu estimated that Wang Hao’s S-rank talent must have only granted him a 30-point increase to all attributes.

"So, what do you think? My stats aren't bad, are they?" Liu Shiyun asked.

"Hmm, not bad at all. Quite strong."

"How much do they lag behind yours?"

"This... well, they probably lag behind a bit..." Lin Yu said with a chuckle. Comparing her to him was simply impossible. Even before his own advancement, all his attributes were already higher than Liu Shiyun's, and once he advanced, his stats would double, widening the gap even further.

"You two stay here and wait for me. I expect to be back by the afternoon," Lin Yu said, pinching little Ruke’s cheek.

"Stay safe. Don't force anything. If it gets dangerous, just run. I'll be waiting for you." Liu Shiyun stepped forward and adjusted his collar, as gentle as a wife seeing her husband off.

"Uncle, please come back safely!" the little girl added, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Don't be so serious. It's just killing a Zombie King," Lin Yu laughed, genuinely enjoying the warmth of the moment.

After heading out, he ran toward the hotel where Big Brother Moist was staying.

"Big Brother Moist, I'm here!" Lin Yu shouted as soon as he entered the hotel. It was only eight in the morning, and the hotel was deathly quiet. Following his shout, a roar echoed from the third floor, followed by the sound of rustling everywhere.

"Why haven't you reached Tier 1 yet?" Big Brother Moist was still in his black tuxedo. He frowned as he approached Lin Yu, followed by a group of Tier 1 zombies. A quick count revealed twenty-three of them.

Lin Yu’s eyes lit up.

"Big Brother, it’s too dangerous for me to go help you kill the Zombie King as I am. If I accidentally kick the bucket, what happens to my wife and kid?" Lin Yu began his performance. "I have to ensure they have the means to protect themselves before I can risk my life for you!"

"..."

"Big Brother, for the sake of your grand goal of unifying the zombies, how about you give me ten more cores? Once I break through to Tier 1, this mission will be absolutely foolproof."

Upon hearing this, Big Brother Moist felt a surge of rage so intense he nearly jumped out of his skin. *Shameless! Utterly shameless!* He had never met such a thick-skinned person in his life.

But in the end, he suppressed his anger. Yesterday, he had been at Tier 1, Level 3; now he was at Tier 1, Level 5. To him, killing the other Zombie King and unifying the ancient town was the most important thing. When that was done, he would have as many Tier 1 cores as he wanted.