“Tap, tap…”
Mu Liang ran his fingers along the bottom of the wooden box.
It sounded hollow.
Using his
combat knife
, he pried open the false bottom and found a
cloth bag
hidden inside.
Opening it, he discovered—
seeds.
“Vegetable seeds? No wonder they were hidden.”
Delighted, Mu Liang
tied the bag shut
and stuffed it into his backpack.
In this
wasteland of an apocalyptic world
,
seeds represented one of the few hopes for rebuilding civilization
.
Continuing his search, Mu Liang
opened the wardrobe beside the bed
—and
found another surprise.
Inside were
five neatly rolled-up bolts of fabric
, each in a different color.
“This is a lot of stuff… looks like I need a helper.”
Mu Liang pulled out the five rolls of fabric, rubbing his chin as he thought about how to transport everything.
There were
a lot of useful supplies
in the camp leader’s room, and he
wanted to take as much as possible
.
After all,
he had come to this world with nothing
.
In this kind of
wasteland
, even if you
had money
, there were
no shops to buy from
.
“Xiao Cai, sneak in here.”
Mu Liang
mentally summoned the Three-Colored Lizard
, which was currently
keeping watch over Mino
.
As for the
Rock Armor Turtle
… it was
too big
. It would probably
knock down a wall
just trying to get inside.
While waiting for the
Three-Colored Lizard
, Mu Liang
packed up everything he planned to take
—five rolls of fabric and a
bundle of swords and knives
.
Digging through the wardrobe again, he found
mostly used clothing and blankets
.
He
had no interest in second-hand items
.
“Hmm? A fresh wolf pelt?”
Opening the last section of the wardrobe, Mu Liang found a
whole, unused wolf hide
.
He lifted it out and
examined it
—the
edges were untrimmed
, meaning it
hadn’t been processed yet
.
“I was wondering why he had three wolf heads but no wolf hide.”
Mu Liang
rolled up the pelt
and set it aside.
“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about bedding now.”
With everything packed, he looked
up at the ceiling
.
The
Three-Colored Lizard arrived quickly
—unlike Mu Liang, who had to
climb walls and dodge guards
, the lizard simply
crawled across the ceiling
.
“Come down and help carry some stuff.”
Mu Liang waved at the lizard.
“Hisss~~”
The
lizard tilted its head
before
crawling down the wall
.
Mu Liang frowned slightly.
“Your body’s too small—you can’t carry much.”
The five
one-meter-long
fabric rolls were about the same
size as the lizard itself
.
“Looks like it’s time to evolve you to Level 3.”
Mu Liang placed his hand on the lizard and
mentally commanded the system
.
“Evolve the Three-Colored Lizard to Level 3.”
“Ding! Evolving Level 2 Three-Colored Lizard to Level 3. Consuming 100 Evolution Points.”
“Ding! Evolution successful.”
“Ding! Three-Colored Lizard’s talent has evolved into
Mimetic Invisibility
.”
“Ding! Synchronizing Beast Tamer’s ability
Mimetic Invisibility
to Level 3.”
As the
familiar warmth
spread through his body, Mu Liang
felt another surge of power
.
“Invisibility? Does that mean I can stay hidden even while moving?”
Mu Liang focused on his
new ability
and immediately activated
Mimetic Invisibility
.
As he
walked
, his
body blended with the surroundings
.
“There’s a slight delay—about one second when transitioning colors. The faster I move, the longer the delay.”
“But if I move slowly, the transition is almost instant.”
Mu Liang quickly
tested the ability
, noting its
pros and cons
.
Still—being able to
move while invisible
was more than enough.
Satisfied, he turned his attention to the
newly evolved Three-Colored Lizard
.
The creature had
doubled in size
, now stretching
two meters long
.
Its
scales were no longer striped
. Instead, each area of scales had
one solid color
green, red, or blue
, creating a
stunningly vibrant
pattern.
It also had
several sharp spikes
growing from
either side of its head
, and its
vertical pupils looked even colder than before
.
Mu Liang
patted its head
with amusement.
“Xiao Cai, if you grow a pair of wings, you could pass for a dragon.”
“Hisss~~”
The lizard
tilted its head
, clearly confused.
What’s a dragon?
“Stay still. Help me carry these supplies back.”
Mu Liang
tied the five fabric rolls, the wolf pelt, and the bundle of swords
onto the lizard’s back.
“Hisss~~”
The
lizard wriggled uncomfortably
under the extra weight.
“Go on. Let Mino take the stuff off when you get there. Then come back for another load.”
Mu Liang
grinned
, waving as the
lizard climbed out the window
.
Its
sharp claws left marks in the wooden walls
as it vanished into the night.
“I need to hurry. If someone finds the leader’s body too soon, things could get complicated.”
Mu Liang
silently left the room
and resumed
searching the house
.
At this hour, the
servant girls were all waiting in their designated spots
, ready to be summoned by their masters.
A horse won’t grow fat without grazing at night.
Since Mu Liang was already
stealing supplies
, he might as well
take some food too
.
After all, it wasn’t
every day he had such an opportunity
.
As he
moved stealthily
, he suddenly noticed
a suspicious figure
sneaking through the house.
“Hmm? Isn’t that A’Gu?”
Mu Liang
recognized the man
—he had been
in the hall earlier, talking with the leader
.
Curious, Mu Liang
trailed him
to see what he was up to.
A’Gu
looked around nervously
, making sure no one was watching before
slipping into a storage room
.
Peering through a
crack in the door
, Mu Liang’s eyes
narrowed in surprise
.
“A food storage room?”
Inside, he saw
A’Gu—along with a servant girl.
Stealing food? Or… something else?
Mu Liang briefly considered the latter, but quickly dismissed the idea.
“A’Gu, are you crazy? You’re taking way too much meat! If the leader finds out, he’ll kill you!”
The
servant girl
looked horrified as she watched A’Gu stuff
choice cuts of meat
into a cloth sack.
In the past, she had
helped him steal small amounts
before.
But now?
There was no way she could cover for him.
“The leader has lost his mind.”
A’Gu hissed angrily.
“He’s planning to work with Bloodbeard to kill off anyone who doesn’t obey him!”
His voice dropped to a
furious whisper
.
“I skipped today’s meeting at the hill, hoping it would mess up the plan. But instead, the leader decided to contact Bloodbeard even sooner!”
Yes—
he had lied to the leader.
It had been a
test
—and the result?
The leader was more insane than he had imagined.
By skipping the meeting, A’Gu had
hoped to stir doubt between the bandits and the camp
.
But he had
underestimated
the situation—
The leader had already
secured the deal personally.
The bandits
wouldn’t second-guess anything
.
The moment they
compared notes
, A’Gu’s
betrayal would be obvious
—and he would be
a dead man
.
So now, he had
no choice
.
He had to escape.
“The leader is working with Bloodbeard?”
The
servant girl turned pale
, panic setting in.
“Go pack your things!”
A’Gu
shoved her toward the door
.
“O-Okay!”
The
servant girl nodded frantically
before running off.
Mu Liang let her go—but kept his
cold gaze locked on A’Gu
, still
stuffing his bag with dried meat
.
Plans change.
It looked like it was
time to adjust his strategy.