Urban Powers After the Apocalypse

Three days had passed in the blink of an eye. In order to coordinate his newly enhanced body, Xu Mo had spent an entire week at home, picking up beans with chopsticks. He was about to go mad. Now he could completely understand how much hardship and tears the word "homebody" represented. He really didn't know how that guy He Shang had managed it for all these years.

Becoming a "homebody" truly required someone with extraordinary talent.

However, the results from the grueling training were significant. Xu Mo could now fully control the output of strength from every part of his body. With the increase in absolute strength, many difficult actions, such as handstands and backflips, could now be performed accurately. He could honestly say that in his eighteen years, he'd never felt his body in such perfect condition. At any given moment, he felt like screaming to release the overflowing energy that almost seemed to be bursting out.

Now, Xu Mo fully believed that if he encountered the same situation from the night of the Doomsday Aurora, when he was intercepted by those attackers, the roles of perpetrator and victim would definitely be reversed.

Spending these few days at home alone, Xu Mo never imagined he'd have such a peaceful time. He could tolerate He Shang, who never thought to call unless the house was on fire, but what was more surprising was that even Xu Bilin, who usually called every two days, hadn't contacted him at all during this period. This left Xu Mo feeling somewhat perplexed.

He even tried calling Xu Bilin twice, but whether due to bad luck or because she was deliberately avoiding him, neither call reached her. All he got was a simple text message as a reply. Thinking back to what He Shang had said about Xu Bilin being seen walking with Ouyang Ning, Xu Mo started to feel an uneasy premonition.

But until Xu Bilin admitted it herself, he wasn't willing to believe his judgment.

However, it wasn't like no one was thinking of Xu Mo. During this time, Tang Guo, that little girl, sent him occasional texts, most of them reporting trivial matters like what she was eating or watching on TV. And this girl didn't care about the time either—sometimes she'd send a message to bother Xu Mo in the middle of the night, nearly driving him to the point of a nervous breakdown.

Yet, among her messages, there were some important things. The owner of the Ferrari 458, which nearly hit them last time, had been identified. Although the surface owner was a woman named Li Yang, the driver that day was a young man named Zheng Yiqi, who was actually the real owner of the luxury car.

It had been six days since they last made a statement at the traffic police station. While the police had confidently promised that they would find the driver within a week, there had been no news since. Even when Xu Mo called to inquire about Zheng Yiqi, the police responded ambiguously, merely claiming that the investigation was still ongoing. This evasive attitude only confirmed Tang Guo's information.

To be honest, Xu Mo wasn't as concerned about finding the driver as Tang Guo seemed to be, but he was very curious as to where this little girl got such accurate information from, especially since the police were being so secretive.

As for this question, Tang Guo didn't respond directly. She only reminded Xu Mo that Zheng Yiqi had a very deep background, advising him not to have high hopes for the police's handling of the case.

It seemed like another child of the privileged class. Although Xu Mo didn't want to admit it, the so-called equality in society really was just a slogan. Though he was enraged by this, there was nothing he could do. No matter how strong the evidence, as an ordinary citizen with no power or influence, trying to sue a government official's child was, in some ways, harder than surviving alone in the Doomsday Illusion.

Xu Mo was just an ordinary citizen. While he sought freedom and strength, what he cared most about was his family's safety. No matter how ruthless Zheng Yiqi was, as long as it wasn't a matter of personal vengeance like killing his father or stealing his wife, Xu Mo didn't want to risk retaliation by going head-to-head with the bureaucrats in power.

Another day passed quickly. Xu Mo had just woken up from an afternoon nap when he was startled by frantic knocking at the door. Groggily, he opened it to find He Shang, dressed up and holding a large stuffed toy almost as tall as a person, panting at the door.

"He Shang? What's with the gift, no holidays or anything?" Xu Mo asked, instinctively reaching for the stuffed toy.

But He Shang quickly pulled it away from him, pushing him back into the room, grabbing a glass of water and gulping it down. "Hurry up! Get dressed and pack your things! I've got a taxi waiting outside! If we're late, it'll be over!"

"Late for what?" Xu Mo asked in confusion, though his hands didn't stop as he hurriedly put on clothes.

"You really forgot?" He Shang pushed up his glasses, his face full of bitter laughter. "Today's your little wife's birthday! I only remembered after Xu Bilin called me."

Xu Bilin's birthday? Xu Mo suddenly remembered that a week ago, she had indeed mentioned it, saying they had reserved a private room at Yipin Pavilion. How had he forgotten all about it?

It was still not too late, so Xu Mo sped up, changing clothes even faster. As he did, he asked He Shang, "Did you get Xu Bilin a birthday gift?"

He Shang eagerly raised the large stuffed toy in his hands. "FF series limited edition golden Chocobo plush, pretty good, huh? I didn't prepare in advance, and when I got the call, I panicked. I quickly searched online for advice, and a kind-hearted beauty told me to get this. The other replies were useless. Half of them suggested I get Durex and lingerie! By the way, did you prepare your gift?"

"You think I had time to prepare?" Xu Mo laughed bitterly. At this moment, he envied He Shang, the homebody. His room was full of toys and models, so he could just grab anything without feeling flustered.

It was too late to buy a gift at the last minute, so Xu Mo, after changing, rummaged through his drawer. He suddenly found the jade Buddha pendant that the girl he saved after killing the Black Wolf had given him. It was traditionally said that men wore Guanyin, while women wore Buddha. Since it was of no use to him, it would make a perfect gift.

He hurriedly ran to the master bedroom, found an exquisite jewelry box on his mother's vanity, and carefully placed the jade Buddha inside. After tucking it away, he called He Shang, and they rushed out of the house.

When they arrived at Yipin Pavilion on Zhongzhou Road in the east of the city, it was already 5:10 PM. Following the directions given by Xu Bilin, they arrived at a private room on the second floor.

The room, called "Jade," was quite large, around 40 square meters. Because Xu Bilin had invited many friends, all three round tables in the room were nearly full.

"You guys are really late... Did you forget about my birthday?" Xu Bilin, the birthday girl, was dressed in new clothes, her hair no longer tied in a ponytail but flowing freely. She had applied light makeup, losing some of her high school innocence and gaining the charm of a mature woman.

Xu Mo was momentarily stunned. He had never seen her look so enchanting and almost forgot to reply.

"How could I forget? Even if I forget who Buddha is, I wouldn't forget the birthday of our beauty, Xu!" He Shang, caught red-handed, quickly handed over the Chocobo plush with a guilty look.

"Wow! So cute! Thanks!" Xu Bilin didn't know the difference between a Chocobo and a chick, and He Shang couldn't be bothered to correct her. A chick was a chick, and it was better than explaining the plot of Final Fantasy to her.

Xu Bilin placed the Chocobo aside and turned to Xu Mo with a smile. "Xu Mo, where's your gift?"

"Happy birthday!" Xu Mo handed over the jewelry box containing the jade Buddha pendant.

After thanking him, Xu Bilin took the box without opening it immediately, placing it alongside the other gifts, including the plush toys.