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Return it?
Yeah right. No way that was happening. Not in this lifetime.
Gold that had already made its way into his pocket—did she really think she could get it back?
How naïve.
Julian picked up a gold bar and squeezed it hard in his hand.
The solid bar twisted instantly, curling up like a braided rope.
Asuka froze.
This…
She knew gold was relatively soft as far as metals went. You could leave bite marks in it, sure. Scrape it with your fingernails and it might dent a little.
But squeezing a gold bar into a twist with bare hands?
Who could even do that?
Asuka grabbed one of her own bars and tried squeezing it.
Nothing happened.
Forget twisting it like a rope—she could barely bend it at all.
"Here, give me the one you're holding. I'll show you again."
Julian held out his hand.
Still dazed, Asuka handed over the gold bar.
Julian casually twisted it into a spiral again.
Then…
He dropped it straight into his own bag.
Asuka blinked.
Wait a second.
Did you just steal my gold bar?
"Come on, hand me that Frostmourne of yours."
Julian cut off her thoughts before she could react.
Curious about what he was planning, Asuka passed him the sword.
This wasn't some cheap cosplay prop. It was a proper Frostmourne replica made by a legitimate sword company—$498 overseas.
Even if it wasn't sharpened, swinging it still carried serious weight.
"Mafuyu, come here."
Julian waved to Mafuyu, who had been helping move things nearby.
Mafuyu set down a heavy refrigerator with ease and jogged over.
"Here. Slice this."
Julian grinned.
After absorbing the strength of two zombies, Julian was technically stronger than Mafuyu now.
But he didn't have claws like hers.
Moments like this were perfect for letting the little follower show off.
Mafuyu nodded. Her claws slowly slid out.
Asuka stared, stunned.
Wolverine?!
Well…
They were only about two centimeters long, but it was still shocking enough.
The next second, Mafuyu swiped her claws across Frostmourne.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Several claw marks appeared across the blade.
She didn't stop.
Another swipe. And another.
The scratches grew deeper and deeper.
Finally—
Clang!
The sword snapped cleanly in half.
"My sword!"
Asuka stood there, completely stunned.
This was the collector's edition!
Not one of those cheap cosplay toys!
And now it was just… broken?
Then the real point hit her.
That long-legged girl had just snapped a steel sword with her bare hands.
Looks like that delivery guy hadn't been lying after all.
They really weren't ordinary people.
As a veteran console, handheld, and PC gamer, Asuka accepted this kind of thing surprisingly quickly.
In fact…
She even felt a little jealous.
"C-could I become that strong too?" she asked.
Julian paused.
That question was… complicated.
It involved a whole mechanism he still didn't fully understand.
Right now, he knew his blood could restore zombies' sanity and make them stronger.
But for normal humans…
That was still a mystery.
If it only worked on zombies, then Asuka's request would be tricky.
He'd have to turn her into a zombie first.
Most people probably wouldn't agree to that.
"That's… a bit difficult," Julian said, shrugging."I haven't fully figured it out myself yet."
No way he could just tell her she needed to become a zombie first.
Thud.
Asuka placed the small backpack she'd been carrying onto the table in front of him.
Julian lifted it.
Heavy.
He opened it and looked inside.
More than thirty gold bars.
Asuka's bars were all 500 grams each.
That meant the bag held over fifteen kilograms of gold.
Enough to trade for more than 150 kilos of food.
Damn.
She was loaded.
"Well… trying it out wouldn't hurt," Julian said seriously.
He also wanted to know whether his blood worked on humans.
And hey—he'd already taken the payment. If it didn't work, the loss wouldn't be his problem.
"Mafuyu, make a cut on my arm," Julian said."Just don't hit the artery."
His body healed ridiculously fast, but if an artery got cut it would still be a hassle. Probably take a few minutes to fully close.
Mafuyu extended one finger and lightly sliced across his arm.
A wound a few centimeters long appeared.
Blood slowly seeped out.
"Alright," Julian said to Asuka."Drink a couple mouthfuls."
"Drink… your blood?!"
Asuka froze again.
Did it really have to be this extreme?
She'd seen plenty of weird stuff in games and anime, sure—but actually drinking someone's blood?
She hesitated.
Asuka glanced toward the nearby residents and security guards. They were busy moving supplies and weren't paying attention.
"Fine… I'll do it."
After a brief struggle, she made up her mind.
Worst case, she'd just pretend it was duck blood from duck blood vermicelli soup.
Asuka leaned closer and pressed her lips to the wound on Julian's arm, gently sucking.
After about half a minute, Julian pushed her head away.
That was enough.
"So?" Julian asked."How do you feel?"
This was important. If it related to his ability, he needed to understand it clearly.
"I feel…"
Asuka's eyes widened.
"So hot!"
Inside her body, a massive surge of energy was rushing through her organs and limbs.
The sensation was overwhelming.
Painful—but at the same time, strangely addictive.
"It's working!"
Julian's eyes lit up.
Looks like his blood didn't just strengthen zombies.
It could make humans stronger too.
What the hell… get rich by selling blood?
No, no, no. I definitely can't just go around selling my blood from now on.
First I need to make the people around me stronger.
Only when I've got extra to spare can I think about helping others.
Besides, I still need to study my ability more carefully.
"Ugh… this feels awful…"
"Are you sick or something? Why does my stomach hurt after drinking your blood?"
Asuka muttered.
"I can't take it anymore. Take me home first!"
Her cold little glare instantly turned into a pleading look.
"Mafuyu, watch the gold here. I'll be back after I deal with this."
Julian gave the order, then hoisted Asuka onto his shoulder and rode his balance scooter toward Villa No. 2.
Asuka was slung over his shoulder like a little pig.
The position was… kind of embarrassing.
But her whole body felt miserable, and she didn't have the strength to resist at all.
Before long, Julian arrived at the gate of Villa No. 2 with Asuka still on his shoulder.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he tripped and fell hard, sending Asuka flying several meters away.
"Which idiot dug a damn hole in the ground?!"
Julian got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.
The balance scooter had fallen straight into the pit and snapped in half.
"Ah… Asuka…"
Julian hurried over and helped Asuka up. She had landed face-first on the ground.
Asuka looked wronged.
The hole… was actually dug by the security guards last night on her orders.
After all, a zombie had been lying there before, and she found it disgusting.
Who would've thought the next day she'd end up falling into her own trap.
Still, after that fall, she realized something strange.
It didn't hurt that much.
So weird…
Could it be because of the blood she drank earlier?
"....."