David Thompson was certain that none of them had seen those things.

Closing his eyes, opening them, looking again...

It wasn’t an illusion—it was right in front of him. But it was as if he were wearing VR goggles: only he could see it, while no one else could.

While he hesitated, the security guards were already about to escort the person away.

He needed that thing. It was an instinctive urge, like a dying man seeing water—the closer he got, the stronger the desire became.

“Wait a second...” His steps, already a bit unsteady, faltered, but David Thompson still managed to catch up in a few strides.

Because it was David Thompson who had stopped the guy just now, when he called out, the security guards paused as well.

David Thompson approached the person, his hand subconsciously making a grabbing motion above him.

He had just seen that when other people’s hands or objects struck those black lines and black and red light spots, they would pass right through.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

...

While the security guards and the people around looked at him in surprise,

David Thompson waved his hand again and slapped the guy on the head.

“Sorry, I missed just now. If I don’t hit him, I can’t explain it to the underclassmen...”

Seeing the surprised looks from those around, David Thompson quickly gave another slap, not very hard, to the peeping tom whose head was already swollen like a pig’s.

“Senior, you’re really something...”

“Let me have a go too—smack...”

...

Laughter and jeering continued, and the security guards waved away the crowd who wanted to follow David Thompson’s example and take another shot.

They left. Among the crowd of underclassmen, some followed indignantly, while others jeered at David Thompson. But none of them noticed that David Thompson’s fist was clenched tightly.

Once they were gone, David Thompson couldn’t wait any longer and hurried away on unsteady feet.

Because he was nervous and walking quickly, by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, David Thompson was drenched in sweat. He didn’t rush upstairs. The seventh floor of a walk-up was a big burden for his current body, and more importantly, he could barely hold back anymore.

He went to a corner and opened his palm.

In his hand were three black fruits the size of normal grapes, more than a dozen black granules the size of rice grains, and a few very dim red granules.

Just now, when he tried to grab at the “pig-headed” peeping tom’s head, these things had appeared in his hand.

Afterward, he checked and saw that the black lines and light spots on that guy’s head had disappeared.

Looking at the things in his palm, David Thompson actually started drooling uncontrollably, like a child seeing something delicious.

He wanted to eat them—really wanted to eat them. The desire was as primal as it gets...

What was going on? What was happening to him?

He’d inexplicably slept for three days, lost dozens of pounds, couldn’t get full no matter how much he ate after waking up, started seeing things no one else could see, and after grabbing at them, these things appeared out of thin air. This wasn’t an illusion, and he desperately wanted to eat them.

This was clearly abnormal, but he felt that if he didn’t eat them, he wouldn’t be able to hold on.

Was it like drinking poison to quench thirst, or would some uncontrollable mutation occur?

Whatever—he’d eat first and worry later.

Could things get any weirder than this?

Of course, even as he thought this, David Thompson still picked the smallest granule to eat first, while dialing 120 on his phone, ready to call for help at the first sign of trouble.

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Fruit

The thing melted instantly as it entered his mouth.

A long drought followed by sweet rain—this was the best way to describe how David Thompson felt at that moment.

People need water and food to survive, but few can truly describe the details of that process. Yet at this moment, David Thompson could feel it vividly.

His sweaty body began to fill with strength, like someone in the desert finally drinking water after days without. Not only that, but a familiar, long-lost sense of power returned to his body.

Drugs?

David Thompson thought of this instinctively, but immediately dismissed it. What a joke—given how he’d gotten these things, there was no way they were drugs.

Looking at the three grape-sized black fruits in his hand, then at the rice-sized black granules.

David Thompson ate a few more of the small granules, then closed his eyes to feel the changes in his body.

The feeling of strength that hadn’t come from eating so much food before finally appeared. It was like someone starving to death—thin porridge might keep you alive for a while, but it’s not enough to really energize the body.

Energy—that’s right, it was the feeling of energy.

He had already weighed his options and made his choice. David Thompson was bold and careful, willing to take risks. He picked up one of the grape-sized black fruits and swallowed it whole.

This time, he deliberately bit down, chewed it once. It was crisp, refreshing, and then, as before, melted instantly in his mouth.

This black fruit was a hundred times stronger than those rice-sized granules. Instantly, he felt a warm current surge through his organs and limbs.

When that feeling had fully circulated and merged into his body, David Thompson was amazed to find that his previous weakness and post-illness symptoms had completely disappeared.

Only those who have been seriously ill can understand how wonderful and joyful it is to be healthy again.

At this moment, that’s exactly how David Thompson felt—so invigorated, so comfortable.