Ling Cage, pick up Lu Mingfei at the start.

Standing among the clothes racks of "Life's Most Adorned," Lu Mingfei felt as if he had traveled back to the 1990s, but the clothes here were not outdated; on the contrary, they were quite avant-garde.

The feel of his fingertips gliding over the fabric was unfamiliar and detached, much like his current relationship with this apocalyptic world.

He had been in Dragon Bone Village for over half a month. Time seemed to stand still here, with only the aching muscles and the clinking coins in his pockets reminding him of the realities of his existence.

The training allowed his body, which had been sustained by computers and potato chips in his original world, to develop a somewhat rugged physique.

He had become somewhat of a familiar face. In this small village with only a few hundred people, his handsome face, which carried an air of otherworldly weariness, was the biggest topic of conversation.

The overly enthusiastic older women were already planning to give him their daughters, as if he were some rare mascot that needed to be kept in captivity. The girl hiding behind the older women was also looking at him with affection.

Every time he encountered such a situation, Lu Mingfei could only flee in panic, like a thief whose tail had been stepped on. He still had the literary society under the setting sun in his heart, and the girl named Chen Wenwen in his heart.

That was the only glimpse of his unremarkable youth that was gilded. Looking back now, that humble unrequited love, as insignificant as dust, was impeccably pure.

But now, he is a stranger in a post-apocalyptic world, a potential asset that Boss Bai described as "might be of some use".

Although deep down he was still that loser who longed to hide in a corner, the circumstances forced him to daydream occasionally, imagining that he could really rise above his circumstances and return to Chen Wenwen in glory, carrying the aura of a king honed in the apocalypse.

Will she look at him with the eyes of someone admiring a hero, instead of letting her gaze easily sweep over him as if ignoring air, as she used to?

The dream is grand, but the reality is that even an aura of dominance needs packaging; he needs an outfit that can carry the show.

Where did the money come from? It came from his unconventional yet unparalleled gaming skills.

Since the news of his defeat of Bai Yuekui in the game spread, many people have come to admire him. After truly witnessing his gaming skills, Lu Mingfei was completely elevated to the altar of the God of Games in Dragon Bone Village. Everyone came to ask him for a few moves, and in order to learn even a move or two, they had to pay tuition.

Lu Mingfei hadn't actually asked for tuition, but his underling Shan Huishi was unhappy. He believed that only Shan Huishi could learn the real skills, and everyone else would have to pay tuition if they wanted to learn. Everyone thought this was reasonable, since it was just a small amount of money, only a few crystal coins. Lu Mingfei thought it was a small matter, since they would all be brothers in the future, and he could just give a token amount. But there were too many people.

Crystal coins are the hard currency of Dragonbone Village, with one coin having the purchasing power of approximately ten dollars in their world. Their value originates from an energy source called "marrow crystals," which are cut from marrow crystals.

It is said that many years ago, a group of powerful individuals known as the "Awakeners" joined forces to permanently nail a beast as large as a mountain to the rock wall here.

The marrow crystals grew on its skeleton, and Dragon Bone Village, relying on the huge natural cavity formed by the giant beast's corpse, continued the spark of civilization.

Lu Mingfei fantasizes about having a custom-made, one-of-a-kind battle suit to match his unique identity as a transmigrator.

This is absolutely not about showing off; really, he just wanted to find a unique, indistinguishable identity for himself.

However, the price quoted by the boss, You Feng, was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.

"Sir, your custom-made item uses exquisite materials and involves complex craftsmanship... Considering you're new here, I'll give you a friendly price: 100 crystal coins!"

"One hundred?!" Lu Mingfei's voice nearly split into two. He only had seventy crystal coins in his entire fortune; he couldn't scrape together that much even if he sold everything he owned. "Could... you make it cheaper?"

"Sir, this is the lowest price I can offer. Any lower and I'd have to sell my pants."

"How about... paying in installments?"

"Sigh," said the shop owner, You Feng, looking troubled, "Logically, it should be possible, but you see, my family is trying to conceive, and the cost of baby formula, diapers... it's really..."

Lu Mingfei understood: in any world, raising the next generation is an epic task that can drain a man's wallet dry.

He silently compromised, eventually choosing a 10-crystal coin T-shirt and an 18-crystal coin jacket.

The two sets of clothes that Boss Bai had initially provided for him were woefully inadequate under the daily onslaught of sweat. In addition, he had brought his own set of clothes with him when he transmigrated, so these three sets of clothes were barely enough to change into, and that was only if Lu Mingfei washed them diligently every day.

He was fed up with the embarrassment of having to choose between damp and wet clothes. He had never done laundry when he lived with his uncle and aunt; he was just often asked to run errands.

As I left with my shopping bags, the shop owner's enthusiastic "Come again next time" rang out behind me.

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "It's fine to come, but next time I'll just browse and not buy anything."

Returning to the place that could barely be called "home," I pushed open the door and saw Bai Yuekui sitting inside, looking quite relaxed, as if she were the one who owned the place.

"Oh, you're back from buying clothes?" Her gaze swept over the bag in his hand, a hint of amusement in it.

"Boss Bai, please understand, I only have those three sets of clothes to suffer in rotation." Lu Mingfei instantly switched to pity mode, "Every day during training is like being pulled out of the water, and the clothes just can't keep up. Sometimes I have no choice but to..."

His fear of Bai Yuekui has lessened considerably.

After playing games together and even accidentally catching a glimpse of her doing energetic morning exercises with a group of elderly people in the morning light, her "cold-faced demon" image completely collapsed.

Gradually, she has slid into a complex image of "a formidable older sister next door" or even "the patriarch of the town and village".

Yes, he knew her secret age. An "old monster" who had lived from the old era to the present, yet possessed an ageless face, was like a myth, unbelievable.

"Stop." Bai Yuekui interrupted his performance, his gaze landing precisely on his slightly bulging pockets. "Do you think I don't know about your 'tuition' income? It's not a small amount, is it?"

"This is legally earned income!" Lu Mingfei instinctively covered his pocket, like a squirrel guarding its food.

"You're still hiding it, but I won't take it from you."

Bai Yuekui was amused by him, but she was clearly not there to check the accounts.

She pushed a thin book onto the table in front of him, making a soft "thud." "Take this, finish reading it today."

Lu Mingfei put down his new clothes and picked up the book—"The Return to Origin Tutorial from Zero to Mastery," written by Bai Yuekui.

"Return to Origin?" He only had a vague concept of this word, as if looking at something through frosted glass. The training captain, Ulan Aodeng, had explained that all physical training was ultimately for the purpose of returning to origin.

"Hmm." Bai Yuekui stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and brought his face, which was enough to make any man lose his mind, closer with a sly smile.

"The so-called 'returning to the origin' is a technique, a method, and even more so, a state. The core is 'concealment' and 'control.' Using special breathing and mental techniques, you suppress the fluctuations of your own life essence to the lowest level, like a stone sinking to the bottom of water, returning to your origin. In this way, those Devouring Beasts that rely on sensing essence to survive will not be able to find you. This is our life-saving charm for surviving on the ground."

She paused, a hint of mockery creeping into her smile: "You're still too inexperienced. To the Devouring Beasts, you're no different from a light bulb in the night, so I can't take you on missions. No missions, no income. You wouldn't... really be planning to stay here with me and live off me, would you?"

The sunlight streaming through the window fell perfectly on her face, giving her delicate skin a soft glow and highlighting the almost invisible fine hairs on her cheeks. She exuded an astonishing vitality that defied her true age, and Lu Mingfei was momentarily stunned.

"Actually, I..."

"Actually what? You expect to live off those game coins for the rest of your life?" Bai Yuekui easily shattered his fantasy.

After training, this kid lies down and immerses himself in games. Recently, he's become obsessed with VR, neglecting to eat or sleep. He also keeps complaining that the world doesn't have such high-end stuff yet. She's starting to regret picking him up in the first place.

"Hehe." Lu Mingfei chuckled dryly. If it could be like that, it would seem like a kind of happiness. But he knew how extravagant that thought was. In the apocalypse, everyone is being whipped forward by an invisible whip. He just hasn't found his own whip yet, and for now, he just wants to drift along and survive.

"The sooner you learn it, the more chances you have to survive." Bai Yuekui's tone softened, but it carried an undeniable authority. "Dragonbone Village is not a permanent safe haven. The Mana ecosystem is expanding, and the Devouring Beasts are evolving. If we don't address the root cause, perhaps one day this place will become history, trampled flat by the Devouring Beasts."

Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine. Evolution? He was hearing this word for the first time, and a strange coldness crept up his spine. He nodded vigorously: "I will definitely finish reading it today!"

Bai Yuekui walked towards the door, paused before leaving, but didn't turn back; his voice came clearly:

"We need your strength, Lu Mingfei."

The door was gently closed.

"We need your strength..."

Those words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in his heart that could not be calmed.

"Will I... be needed too?" he murmured to himself.

Aside from the life-or-death race he experienced when he first arrived, his life here was almost idyllic. He ate wherever he could find food, mainly at Bai Yuekui's house, sometimes when his gaming buddies treated him, and occasionally at Shan Shihui's house. It wasn't until his mother Xia Hua's gaze, which seemed to be "corrupting my son," was almost burning holes in him that he sheepishly reduced the number of times he visited.

"It's obvious that Shanshihui sneaked out to play games on its own, so how can you assume he's the one who corrupted Shanshihui?" Lu Mingfei thought to himself.

The idea of ​​a carp leaping over the dragon gate is nothing more than a fancy excuse for losers to comfort themselves.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do; he just mechanically followed the training.

Strangely, his body seemed to be well-suited to this kind of torture. Muscle soreness that others needed to rest to relieve could be mostly recovered by him after a good night's sleep, making him the fastest-improving anomaly in the training team.

Could this be considered his only talent? An exceptional ability to withstand beatings and recover?

He shook his head and picked up the book, "The Return to Origin Tutorial from Zero to Mastery".

The book is not thick, and the language is surprisingly plain, as if Bai Yuekui is personally explaining it to him, dissecting those mysterious concepts step by step.

He read very quickly, and three hours passed quietly in highly concentrated reading.

Was it the word "need" that ignited the faint flame of "responsibility" that remained in his heart, or was it simply because he didn't want to let down that meal and that expectation? He himself couldn't say for sure.

"Knock knock knock".

The knocking on the door startled him from his reverie. He looked out the window; dusk was falling.

It's already evening!

He hurriedly tidied himself up and ran to open the door. Bai Yuekui stood outside the door, his gaze passing over his shoulder and landing on the book on the table, which was already turned to the last page. A barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.

"Let's eat." She said succinctly, then turned and led the way.

This is the usual routine, but today he was so engrossed in studying that he missed the allotted time.

Lu Mingfei followed behind her, wondering if she had come specifically to check? Seeing that he had actually finished reading, her eyes... seemed to show satisfaction?

Besides Bai Yuekui, there was also Wulan Maiduo on the dining table.

"Hi~" Maido greeted with a smile, her eyes curving into crescents.

Lu Mingfei responded, looking at Bai Yuekui with a questioning gaze.

As Bai Yuekui served the food, he casually placed a few pieces of meat into Maiduo's bowl. "Finished reading the book?"

"I've finished watching it."

"Tell me, how much of it do you understand?"

"First and foremost, you need a strong enough body; that's the foundation. If your body isn't strong enough, nothing else matters. Endurance, strength, and flexibility all need to be developed."

"Okay, continue."

"Then comes meditation and introspection. Let your body quiet down and use your mind to perceive the flow of life essence within your body. You need to 'see' it or 'feel' it."

"Finally, there's the source matter suppression. Once you perceive it, use your willpower to control it, soothe it, and calm it down, like it's asleep, minimizing the fluctuations."

"Well, that's a pretty good summary." Bai Yuekui raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of genuine appreciation, and casually placed a piece of meat on his plate. "Starting tomorrow, you'll begin practical training with Maiduo. Books are static, but people are dynamic."

"Don't oversleep tomorrow, Lu Mingfei!" Mai Duo immediately reminded him, clearly remembering the last time he overslept.

"I guarantee I'll be on time, Heroine Wulan!" Lu Mingfei immediately assured him.

"What heroine... just call me Maido." The girl corrected him a little shyly.

"Haha, our little heroine, we'll be leaving her in your care tomorrow." Bai Yuekui laughed, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Mai Duo's cheeks flushed slightly, and she replied softly, "Yes, Boss Bai." Then she secretly glared at Lu Mingfei, annoyed that he had spoken up.

Dinner ended in a fairly harmonious atmosphere. Mai Duo took her leave first. Lu Mingfei also stood up, preparing to slip back to his own little apartment.

"Lu Mingfei." Bai Yuekui's voice came from behind.

He turned around.

Under the orange light, her expression was indistinct; only her voice came through clearly:

Get some rest early tonight.