"Nothing." After finishing the bread, Grace Bennett licked her red lips, still savoring the taste, and glanced at her hand, now dotted with a bit of oil. For some reason, she resisted the urge to lick her fingers. In all her life, this was the first time she had ever felt this strange thing called "saving face."

How to describe it? Not wanting someone to see her behaving in an unseemly way? That didn’t seem quite right either.

"I’ll do my best to find the gold in the bank vault... but moving that stuff over here will probably be even harder than finding it."

Yes, this dead city was filled with abandoned cars, but the EMP (electromagnetic pulse phenomenon caused by high-altitude nuclear explosions) from the nuclear war had already paralyzed most of the city’s electronic devices. The advancement of technology had ironically become a shackle restricting the survivors’ chances of survival. Every car lying in the street was a product of high technology; even internal combustion engine vehicles were usually equipped with high-tech components. And precisely because of this, these things had broken down completely.

Unless you found a professional to repair them, finding a working car in the wasteland was pretty much a pipe dream.

"Don’t push yourself, just focus on reconnaissance. I need to know the terrain there, the level of danger, and the exact location of the gold... That’s all. Try to be back before dark."

"Yeah, I know even without you saying it." Grace Bennett waved her hand and did a final check of her gear. "Nights in Shanghai are dangerous, zombies everywhere. Once night falls, those zombies get a lot smarter than they are during the day."

"By the way, can I see your EP status?" Just as Grace Bennett was about to head out, Jason Carter suddenly asked. He was still a bit curious—what kind of freakish stats did the woman who had taken him down in one move have?

Grace Bennett was momentarily stunned, then cheerfully shook the EP in her hand, leaving Jason Carter dumbfounded.

……

Username: Grace Bennett

[Muscle Strength: 44

Bone Strength: 61

Reflexes: 40

Brain Cell Activity: 13

Notes: C-level tissue repair vaccine. T-virus vaccine.

……]

……

No matter what, Jason Carter just couldn’t imagine it.

The power that slender arm could unleash was actually more than three times his own...

Is this even human?!

While Grace Bennett went to explore the Pudong Bank, Jason Carter didn’t sit idle either. After confirming that Grace Bennett had gone far enough, he immediately crossed back to the modern world.

Time passed in parallel in both worlds; neither side moved faster, so Jason Carter still had plenty of time.

Of course, he couldn’t recharge in his rental apartment—the home circuit would take who knows how long to fill up 100 kilowatt-hours. If Grace Bennett came back and didn’t see him, that would be a problem. So, to finish charging as quickly as possible, Jason Carter shamelessly went elsewhere to steal electricity.

Sneaking over to a distribution box in the neighboring complex, he guiltily used a knife to cut a slit in the insulation of the power cable, took a deep breath, and grabbed it with his right hand.

A huge current sparked and crackled, and the energy slot at his wrist quickly filled up.

Meanwhile, the entire building lost power...

"Goddammit, fucking power company, why the hell is the power out again?! My ranked match, fuck!"

"Oppa, oppa, wuwuwu, why is the power out! I’m so pissed off..."

Angry shouts echoed from upstairs, and quite a few residents opened their windows to check on the building across the way. Not even bothering to close the lid, Jason Carter slipped away in a hurry. The reason he chose this old complex for charging was precisely because it didn’t have any security cameras.

Full of guilt, Jason Carter slunk back to his rented apartment.

"Sigh, I really need to figure out a solution for this charging problem. Hire someone to modify the wiring? ...Hard to explain that kind of power usage. If it draws the authorities’ attention, I’m screwed. Move somewhere else? Or rent a commercial warehouse that can handle high-power output? ...Damn it, if only there was something that could replace electricity as an energy source."

To make it easier to measure the remaining energy, Jason Carter used a ruler and an oil pen to mark tiny scale lines next to the energy slot.

Humming a little tune and daydreaming about a happy future, Jason Carter packed food into his backpack and at the same time ordered several boxes of canned food, instant noodles, and bread in bulk from Taobao. Looking at his dwindling account balance, Jason Carter didn’t feel discouraged at all. He knew very well that before long, the money he was spending now would probably be just pocket change compared to what he’d have in his account in the future.

The entire bank vault’s worth of gold! What a windfall that would be!

Even if the money hadn’t arrived yet, ahem.

"Overnight riches"—that was probably the only phrase that could describe how he felt right now.

Besides food, Jason Carter also prepared some bandages, antibiotics, and other medical supplies. Considering he’d probably have to stay in the apocalypse for a while longer, Jason Carter used 10% of his energy to store two boxes of canned food and four boxes of instant noodles in his storage space. Although both storing and retrieving items cost energy, it was always better to be prepared.