Chapter Five: Could It Be That My Power Isn’t Impressive Enough?

With no other choice, after logging off, Shen An contacted Sun Ming.

Not long after, Sun Ming pulled up in his car outside the internet café.

"Something's off. You've always had guts, so why are you suddenly too scared to go home tonight?"

Sun Ming was incredulous about what Shen An had said on the phone just moments earlier.

This guy actually claimed the tremors nearby were too dangerous, that his place wasn't safe, and so he wanted to crash with Sun Ming for a few days.

But after thinking it over, Sun Ming could somewhat understand.

"Cut the nonsense. You find somewhere else to spend the night for the next few days. I'll be staying at your place for a while."

Shen An got in, shutting the car door behind him.

"Come on, man! That's my apartment. I haven't even let my girlfriend stay there, and now you want to sleep in my place and kick me out on top of it? That's just not fair."

"Tch, you bought that place and never even live there. It's just gathering dust."

Twenty minutes later, the two of them arrived at an apartment complex.

It was a three-bedroom, two-living-room unit that Sun Ming had bought as a bachelor pad, intended for seducing women, but had never actually used—much to Shen An's benefit in the end.

He'd already given his address to that so-called "female armed police officer."

Shen An had no idea whether she'd come looking for him next; it was very likely people had already been stationed near his home. He simply couldn't believe that woman would let him off so easily.

So, for now, he could only try to stay out of her way.

Sun Ming didn't bother finding somewhere else to stay; the apartment was large enough. He casually picked a room for himself.

That night, Shen An was unusually alert. He couldn't get to sleep.

Ever since absorbing that "primal oxygen," he felt different, more vigorous in body and spirit.

With a thought, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

Talent [Devour], Talent Value: B-level (1/10,000)
Talent [Space], Talent Value: S-level (1/1,000,000)
Hidden Talent [Connection to the Future], Talent Value: SA-level (1/10,000,000)
Available Talent Points: 15,000.

He hadn't had time to study this thoroughly before; now, with some peace and quiet, he intended to examine it in detail.

Staring at the words on the panel, Shen An lapsed into deep thought.

After a few minutes, he seemed to make up his mind.

"Forget it. My future self hasn't contacted me yet. I might as well test it out first."

"Devour."

With a thought, a vortex formed behind him.

It seemed to emerge from within his own body.

On the other side of the vortex, Shen An could clearly see the lake he had devoured earlier at Qianling Mountain.

The water in that lake seemed to be able to increase his talent points.

As Shen An stared in a daze, he suddenly felt a chill, his whole body relaxing—then he froze.

"Damn it! My blanket, my bed!"

He hastily ended the devouring process.

Still, he could sense residual traces in the air from this experiment.

During the devouring, Shen An had absorbed a significant amount of "primal oxygen." Though it was sparse, it was undeniably real.

"The world is changing, primal oxygen is appearing, and I really am the chosen one. With my future self's help, my prospects are limitless! Hahaha!"

...

"Open up, Ming! Hurry, I'm freezing to death out here!"

Sun Ming, fast asleep, was rudely awakened by Shen An's shouting.

He opened the door, looking at Shen An suspiciously.

Then his gaze shifted to the bed behind Shen An.

It was completely gone.

"Bro, my dear brother, where's the bed?"

Shen An looked confused and his expression was grim—clearly he was in a foul mood.

Seeing Shen An's mood, Sun Ming panicked.

Crap. He looks about to lose his temper.

"Bro, what happened? Please say something! You're scaring me here."

Shen An said, "Ming, seriously, I'm staying here for a few days. The least you could do is prepare a bed for me, give me a place to sleep, right?"

"What?"

Sun Ming was bewildered.

"No, bro, there was a bed when you got here. You were even lying on it, I swear!"

"Swear all you want, Sun Ming. Are you running a fever? Don't scare me, man. Maybe you should go to the hospital. Too much happened today—maybe you're just confused."

Sun Ming tried to recall, but in his memory, the bed was definitely there!

The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Could he really have been mistaken?

He started to doubt himself.

After all, a bed couldn't just vanish into thin air.

They searched the whole place, but found nothing.

Besides, the apartment had a security system—no one could enter without the owner's permission, or an alarm would go off. He'd know immediately.

So, it was impossible for a thief to have taken it.

The more Sun Ming thought about it, the more muddled he became. He decided to just stop thinking altogether.

The next morning, Sun Ming left early for work.

Shen An scoffed at this rich kid's so-called job—he was really just out to chase girls.

Ding-dong!

With the sunrise, his phone chimed with a WeChat notification.

Shen An rolled over.

Ding-dong!

He opened his eyes, checked his phone, and saw new messages.

Suddenly, he sat up straight.

"So, do you believe me now?"

"Looks like you absorbed 'primal oxygen.' What ability did you awaken?"

Two messages popped up, both from the same person.

His future self had finally contacted him.

Excited, Shen An quickly replied.

"I believe you, completely! After absorbing the 'primal oxygen' you mentioned, my whole body feels different. And I awakened a new ability, though I don't know what it's for."

Future Self: "Tell me what ability you gained first."

Shen An immediately typed out all the information from the panel and sent it over.

There was a long pause with no response.

"What's wrong?"

Shen An started to worry.

Could it be that my ability isn't that impressive?

"Brother?"

Future Self: "Hahaha! You've made it—no, we've made it! With this, being invincible is basically inevitable."

Reading this, Shen An was over the moon.

So this ability is really powerful.

"Bro, you know something about this power? Tell me more!"

But the reply he got was, "I actually don't know either. But it sure looks impressive, so my guess is it's pretty badass."

"Damn it!"

Shen An couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Don't get too excited yet. Tell me everything that happened last night, then I'll fill you in on some other things."

So, Shen An recounted everything that had happened the previous night in detail to his future self.

After a while, a reply came back.

"Bai Weiwei—she's an early awakened one. According to what you said, she doesn't seem to have awakened her powers yet. But, the day after tomorrow at the Northern Suburb Manor, when Bai Weiwei goes to investigate, she'll be attacked by an unknown force—and she'll catch a bullet with her bare hands."

"She's that strong?" Shen An felt the pressure mounting. "Tell me, did she become my wife later?"

Shen An hadn't expected his future self to be so shameless, and for a moment, his drifting soul didn't know how to respond.

After all, both sides were himself.

"I'm your future self, so I know a lot of things in advance. But now that I've started contacting you, the timeline has already shifted a bit. Still, the overall direction shouldn't change much."

"Remember, in just over half a month, the world will undergo a massive transformation. Spiritual energy will awaken. You must be ready to grow stronger—fall behind, and you might repeat my mistakes. All your preparations could come to nothing."

"Don't worry," Shen An replied confidently. "With you here from the future, I won't let myself die again."

After ending the chat, Shen An sat on the bed.

"Seventeen days left."

This was the information his self from ten years in the future had provided.

In these seventeen days, every day would bring new changes.

Nothing might happen today, but tomorrow, at the Northern Suburb Manor, events would unfold. He needed to be ready in advance, seize the initiative, and snatch up resources.

After going out for a simple meal, his phone suddenly received a push notification.

It was from the TigerFish live-streaming app.