After learning that his parents were still alive and sending them a message, Luffy was no longer drifting aimlessly. He had a new goal. Before, he was simply trying to survive. Now, to reunite with his parents, he not only had to live but also become stronger. Thus, he started taking things much more seriously.
First, he had to hide the firearms and ammunition in the basement, as there was now an outsider in the house.
It was true that Luffy would help Lin Qiaoni within his means, but deep down, he still considered her an outsider. She was far from being a true companion. Therefore, he couldn’t leave weapons capable of dealing him a fatal blow lying out in the open for her to see. Sometimes, the allure of benefits could breed dark desires in the heart of even the most Xianyu of people.
It was supposed to be a simple matter. When his father renovated the villa, he had built an additional storage room onto the basement to hold confidential documents and valuables. The storage Space was quite large—more than enough to hold all the weapons and ammunition. However, because it used an electronic combination lock, the door couldn’t be opened now that the power was out.
He had a generator and a battery. Consequently, rewiring the electrical circuits became Luffy’s most pressing project. He planned to get it done after Lin Qiaoni fell asleep that night.
With electricity, he could restart his father’s home gym, which was fully equipped with various exercise machines. If the treadmill was operational, he could "torture" Lin Qiaoni once more. If the dynamometer was working, he could measure exactly how much his Power had increased and conduct some basic research. And with electricity, he could safely hide away all his firearms and ammunition.
"Luffy!" Just as he was deep in thought, Lin Qiaoni finished her shower and stepped into the villa’s living room.
Luffy turned his head and was momentarily stunned. At that moment, Lin Qiaoni looked like a flower fairy freshly bathed in the morning dew. She was wearing denim shorts and a camisole top. She looked incredibly... well, Luffy took a second to find the right word—eye-catching. With her exquisite face, rather well-developed assets, perky rear, and long legs, Luffy couldn’t help but praise his own good taste.
Although her figure hadn’t quite reached its absolute peak, Luffy was only eighteen himself. He was at the exact age to appreciate female schoolmates around his own age. If she were much older, he might have needed to reconsider.
Despite the lovely view, Luffy tossed a small-sized set of armed police tactical gear over to Lin Qiaoni.
It was the apocalypse! Dressing like that was practically a death wish. Even though there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger, one had to remain ready for combat at all times. Outfits like hers belonged in those absurdly unrealistic TV dramas.
Lin Qiaoni stuck her tongue out playfully and silently changed into the police uniform. It was a bit baggy on her, but it looked much more practical than her previous attire.
Afterward, Lin Qiaoni had something to eat. Before Luffy could even speak, she asked, "Luffy, I’m so exhausted. Can I go get some sleep first?"
Ever since the incident with her father, she had barely closed her eyes. She had been too terrified to sleep! Now, well-fed and hydrated, a heavy wave of drowsiness washed over her, and she couldn’t stop yawning.
Luffy pointed to the bedrooms upstairs, gesturing for her to pick any room she liked. Lin Qiaoni thanked him and eagerly hurried upstairs.
After a while, Luffy quietly sneaked into the bedroom Lin Qiaoni had chosen. He harbored no ulterior motives; he simply wanted to check if she was actually asleep. Before he even pushed the door fully open, he could hear her soft snoring. He nudged her rear, but she didn’t react at all. She was dead to the world.
Luffy backed out of the room and gently closed the door. He stood in the hallway for a moment, listening. Her snoring remained steady, so he finally headed downstairs.
The electrical rewiring began. It was actually quite simple. All he needed to do was run two wires connecting the villa’s main power switch to the generator in the basement. The basement had excellent soundproofing. Even if the generator ran twenty-four hours a day, it wouldn’t be heard from the outside. Finding the necessary wiring was a bit of a hassle since he had to scavenge outside for it, but for Luffy, this wasn’t a problem at all.
Half an hour later, Luffy returned to the villa with a coil of wire slung over his shoulder. He spent the next two hours connecting the main switch to the basement generator. Standing in front of the machine, Luffy dusted off his hands and fired it up.
The gasoline generator sputtered to life with a CHUG CHUG CHUG. The noise was well within Luffy’s acceptable limits. The power indicators on the various electronic devices across the basement lit up one by one.
"Done!"
Next, Luffy pulled back the basement carpet, revealing a horizontally installed electronic hatch about one square meter in size. Lifting a palm-sized metal flap exposed an electronic combination lock glowing with a blue light.
The password was his mother’s birthday, which he had known for a long time. After punching in the digits, the electronic lock let out a BEEP, and Luffy hoisted the hatch open.
Now that the power was restored, the interior lights flickered on automatically as the door opened. The storage room was roughly four square meters in size and about one-and-a-half times the height of an average person. A short aluminum alloy staircase connected it to the basement floor.
Luffy had zero interest in the two dozen gold bars gleaming under the lights, nor did he care about the confidential documents. He just chucked all the firearms and ammunition straight into the storage space. He securely locked the hatch again and smoothed out the carpet. The entire basement felt empty once more. Time to rest. Luffy plopped himself down heavily onto the sofa.
The next day, after a quick breakfast, a bewildered Lin Qiaoni was dragged down to the basement by Luffy.
Her cheeks burned bright red as she thought, "He finally couldn’t hold back anymore! A leopard can’t change its spots. How could Young Master Lu ever turn into a true gentleman? Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Ah!" Just as her imagination ran wild, Luffy suddenly shoved a pair of boxing gloves into her arms.
Lin Qiaoni caught on immediately. She strapped on the gloves, let out a sharp cry, and threw a punch at the dynamometer. It sounded rather imposing, and her form was elegant, but the number displayed on the screen left Luffy utterly speechless.
"25kg!"
Luffy shook his head. He turned around, quietly slipped on his own gloves, and viciously slammed his fist into the dynamometer.
BEEP BEEP!
The dynamometer blared a warning alarm. Its maximum capacity was only 300 kilograms—already 50 kilograms higher than Tyson’s punch force—and basically represented the absolute physical limit of an ordinary human.
"296kg."
Luffy remembered that before the apocalypse, an all-out punch from him would barely break ninety kilograms. Right now, in terms of Power alone, he was a full three times stronger than before. He figured this must be the baseline average for a Tier One Zombie and a Tier One Evolver.
Next came speed. He jogged a few laps around the villa with Lin Qiaoni. Over the course of ten laps, he managed to overlap her by more than four. Of course, that was also partly because Lin Qiaoni’s body hadn’t fully recovered yet. However, compared to when he first turned into a Zombie, his speed had increased dramatically, and his coordination was vastly improved.
After arranging a workout routine for Lin Qiaoni in the gym, Luffy left the villa.
He needed to raise his combat capabilities. At present, the only way to do that was by hunting Tier One Zombies and absorbing the Energy Crystals from their brains to enhance his strength. For the sake of his own strength, he had no choice but to sharpen his blade and take the fight to the Zombies.
Humans slaughtered each other all the time; why couldn’t a Zombie do the same?