Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

Qiao Jingjing was about to reply, but she paused involuntarily, remained silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly curved her lips into a smile.

She didn't say anything more, but simply crossed her arms over her chest, leaned against the door frame, and quietly watched his busy back, as if guarding a cluster of faint light.

Before long, a plate of glistening, fragrant braised pork, a dish of golden, fluffy scrambled eggs, and a plate of vibrant green stir-fried bok choy were steaming hot and placed on the table.

"Here, try it while it's hot—how's the cooking?"

Lin Quan put down the tray and gestured with his chin towards her.

Qiao Jingjing didn't refuse and sat down directly, her back as straight as a pine tree. When Lin Quan pushed the bowl of rice to her side, she looked at the small table and the few home-style dishes in front of her, her eyes slightly darkening, revealing an indescribable tenderness.

"...It's been a long time since I've been able to sit down and have a meal in peace like this."

"Since the year the zombie virus broke out, I've either been running for my life or on my way to running for my life."

Her voice was very soft, yet it was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, creating ripples that spread silently.

In the apocalypse, no one can guarantee anything—whether the next meal will be the last; whether the next morsel of food will arrive before the blade.

It wasn't until she signed the contract with Lin Quan that her heart, which was hanging on the edge of a cliff, finally found a thin rope to tie it up.

Before they knew it, the food on the table was all gone, even the bowls were spotless. Lin Quan put down his chopsticks, looked up and saw that her ears were flushed and her fingers were unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. He couldn't help but smile and ask, "How was it?"

"I……"

As soon as Qiao Jingjing opened her mouth, before she could even finish a sentence, a blush suddenly spread across her cheeks, burning from her ears all the way down to her jawline.

Who would have thought that Qiao Jingjing, who was as delicate as an ice sculpture and wouldn't even blink when a zombie pounced on her, would turn red and flushed from a bowl of braised pork?

Before she could speak, Lin Quan had already gotten up to clear the dishes, saying as he wiped them:

"Just tell me if you like it. Call me anytime if you want to eat something."

"Let me clean up first, we can talk later if there's anything else."

The blush on Qiao Jingjing's face vanished in the blink of an eye, like a thin mist blown away by the wind. She composed herself again, reverting to her usual aloof demeanor, and simply nodded slightly: "Mm."

Lin Quan glanced at her and smiled, but didn't say anything more.

After the dishes were put away, the two of them left the house one after the other and headed straight for the yard.

Swish

The two had just sat down when Lin Quan hadn't even had a chance to speak.

With a slight thought, Qiao Jingjing swiped her fingertips, and the space in the mirror opened, revealing an antique wooden box that floated steadily in her palm.

Lin Quan had heard of this box before.

When Qiao Jingjing returned from her long journey, she quietly sealed it into the mirror space—because of the contract, she could come and go freely there, but Lin Quan was not allowed to touch it. Even though he had all sorts of speculations in his heart, he never looked at it once.

But he was already quite certain about what was inside the box.

Sure enough, as soon as Lin Quan's gaze fell on the box, Qiao Jingjing had already lifted the lid.

Inside the box lay dozens of crystal cores, each about the size of a thumb, translucent and lustrous.

Most of them gleamed with a cold, pale light, but three of them shone brightly with an orange glow. They were noticeably larger and heavier, exuding a sense of concentrated power.

Lin Quan glanced at them only once before looking up at her: "These are the zombie crystal cores?"

"Yes." She nodded. "The white ones are level 1, the most common; the orange ones are level 2, rarer and stronger."

She paused slightly, a slight smile playing on her lips, and added:

"Swallowing crystal cores can temper one's bones and muscles, and even trigger the awakening of supernatural abilities—what I awakened was mental power."

Before she could finish speaking, her mind went blank.

Several crystal cores in the box suddenly rose into the air, hovering half a foot in the air, completely still.

"It is formless and shapeless, yet it can control objects and shape them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Quan suddenly felt a tightness in his back, as if he were being lifted up by an invisible hand—his feet left the ground, and his whole body slowly floated up!

He tested his strength briefly, and then saw Qiao Jingjing stop, and the crystal cores fell back into the box.

Before he could speak, her gaze shifted and locked onto a wooden stool next to her.

Click...click...crack!

The wooden stool suddenly tensed, its legs twisted, and its surface cracked, with fine cracks growing wildly like a spider web.

boom--!

A muffled thud rang out, splinters flew everywhere, and the entire stool shattered into pieces on the spot!

"This is another way of using mental power." Her tone was calm, yet every word was forceful.

"I am currently at level 2, and when I activate it at full power, my strength is about three thousand jin."

"hiss……"

Lin Quan gasped, his pupils contracting slightly.

"Only level 2, and already this strong?"

He composed himself, then looked at her with a hint of inquiry: "So, how are your strengths ranked?"

Qiao Jingjing answered decisively: "Those who haven't awakened any special abilities and rely solely on their physical strength—those weighing less than a thousand jin are considered Level 1 enhancers; those weighing between a thousand and ten thousand jin are Level 2; and those weighing between ten thousand and one hundred thousand jin are Level 3."

"The classifications for mental and physical abilities are consistent. As for elemental or special ability users, they are classified according to their energy intensity."

She paused, her gaze returning to the box: "These crystal cores are no longer of any help to me."

"Give it a try. You might be able to unleash your special abilities. Even if you don't awaken them, you can still be transformed and gain a foothold in this world."

Before the words were finished, a white crystal core leaped out of the box on its own, spun lightly, and hovered steadily an inch in front of Lin Quan's nose.

Staring at the crystal core floating in front of him, he met Qiao Jingjing's gaze.

Lin Quan paused slightly, then, without further hesitation, raised his hand and grabbed the cool, translucent crystal.

"How do you use this thing?"

Qiao Jingjing answered decisively: "Swallow it."

"Well……"

"Should I take a shower first?"

The thought of it being pried out of a zombie's skull made Lin Quan's stomach churn.

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned on the tap and carefully scrubbed the water three times, even rinsing the edges and crevices repeatedly.

Back in the courtyard, he looked down at the glowing crystal core in his palm, then looked up at Qiao Jingjing.

The next second, he gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, took it in his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbed, and swallowed it down.

After waiting a few moments, he clicked his tongue, frowned, and said, "It seems... I don't feel anything?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Jingjing smiled slightly: "Don't worry, the change is coming."

Swish!

Just as Lin Quan was about to speak, a burst of scorching heat suddenly exploded from his abdomen, like molten lava surging, instantly spreading to his limbs.

At first, it was warm and cozy, like soaking in a warm bath on a winter's day, making you feel comfortable all over.

In the blink of an eye, that warmth suddenly turned into a raging torrent, rampaging through the blood.

It felt as if my internal organs were being torn apart by iron hooks, and my tendons and ligaments were being bitten and gnawed by thousands of poisonous insects.

"Ugh!!!"

His face contorted, his knees buckled, and he crashed to the ground with a thud, his ten fingers digging into the soil, his roar tearing through the air.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

A blinding, silvery-white arc of electricity suddenly surged beneath his skin, crackling and popping, coiling and moving like a living thing.

Qiao Jingjing's eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "A Thunder Awakener!"

Time ticked by, second by second...

The brighter the lightning, the more intense the pain, as if being torn apart by a thousand knives and pierced by ten thousand needles.

Large beads of sweat rolled down, forming a damp patch on the blue brick floor.

Nearly half an hour later, the lightning finally subsided slowly, like the receding tide.