Having lived through an apocalypse, Sue Lawrence was no longer afraid of these little critters.
She opened the door, and a gust of cold air mixed with the smell of pets washed over her. Unfazed, she walked straight to the balcony and opened the first enclosure. Inside was a tiny neon tetra, no bigger than her thumbnail.
With a single touch, Sue Lawrence took the ability of this fish: [Activating Ability: What's Yours Is Mine. Skill acquired: [Underwater Breathing (Ten Minutes)]. Skill acquired: [High Efficiency Swimming: I'm a Happy Little Fish]!]
[Underwater Breathing (Ten Minutes)]: You can breathe underwater like a fish for ten minutes without drowning.
[High Efficiency Swimming: I'm a Happy Little Fish]: From now on, just sway your hips and forget you have limbs. You'll become a real little fish, happily swimming about!
'Not bad. Another underwater escape Skill,' Sue Lawrence thought, nodding in satisfaction. Although the Underwater Breathing was time-limited, it could be a lifesaver in a pinch.
Next, she took ability of the cricket:[Activating Ability: What's Yours Is Mine. Skill acquired: [Cricket's Jumping Power]!]
[Cricket's Jumping Power]: You will gain the ability to jump 10-20 times your own height. Of course, if you are well-fed and strong, have exceptional willpower, or are in a desperate situation, it's not impossible to achieve a leap of thirty times your height.
Sue Lawrence quickly did the math. 'With my height of 170 cm, I can jump 17 to 34 meters. And in a desperate situation, maybe even 51 meters?' A part of her was eager to try it out, but she knew now wasn't the time for experiments and moved on.
Next was the gecko. She took its ability smoothly.
[Activating Ability: What's Yours Is Mine. Skill acquired: [Gecko's Climbing Ability]. Skill acquired: [Gecko Disguise]!]
[Gecko's Climbing Ability]: You can stick to smooth surfaces like walls and ceilings like a gecko. You can even crawl vertically or move while hanging upside down. The world is yours to traverse!
[Gecko Disguise]: As long as you remain motionless, you will not be easily discovered. The conditions are that you must not move, you must find cover, and you must make yourself as small as possible to reduce your presence. After all, even a gecko can't save someone with a death wish.
Finally, Sue Lawrence opened the spider's enclosure. With a touch of her fingertip, she acquired its ability as well.
[Activating Ability: What's Yours Is Mine. Skill acquired: [Perception]. Skill acquired: [Spider Silk]!]
[Perception]: Allows you to keenly perceive light and vibrations, enhances your sixth sense, and lets you sense danger like an animal.
[Spider Silk]: Tensile strength far greater than steel, with an elasticity of 20%-40%. Exceptionally tough. Unaffected by short-term exposure to temperatures below 200°C and retains over 80% of its mechanical properties at -196°C. (Daily production: three strands!)
Sue Lawrence: ...
'Am I Spider-Man now?'
'But only three strands a day. What a shame.' This Spider Silk's toughness was comparable to top-grade specialized materials. If she could weave it into a protective suit, it wouldn't just stop zombie claws and teeth during the apocalypse—it could probably even withstand a blow from a blunt weapon.
Growing more and more eager, the first thing Sue Lawrence did was produce a strand of silk.
The strand was about a meter long and as thin as a hair. She gave it a tug; it was elastic and wouldn't break. Anyone who didn't know what it was would have mistaken it for a rubber band.
She found a small notebook, tore out a page, folded it into a strip, and wound the silk around it. She then produced the remaining two strands for the day and wound them on as well. She decided that once she had enough to make a large ball of thread, she'd see if she could fashion it into a zombie-proof suit.
All that was left was the small turtle, about the length of two knuckles.
In the freezing cold, the little turtle was motionless, retracted in its shell. Sue Lawrence simply touched the shell and easily took its ability.
[Activating Ability: What's Yours Is Mine. Skill acquired: [Turtle's Defense]!]
[Turtle's Defense]: Can withstand up to 100 kilograms of physical force. Tip: If you're afraid of pain, be more cautious. Don't just tank the hit.
Sue Lawrence nodded in satisfaction.
Sliding open the balcony door, she stood and scanned the area below. Her Perception, augmented by the Cat's Hearing, allowed her to sense her surroundings with incredible acuity.
She could hear the pedestrians' conversations below with perfect clarity. The ten o'clock morning sun cast a soft, wintery light, and she could distinctly feel the angle of the light change with each passing second. With her eyes closed, she could sense the shifts in wind direction, the humidity and temperature of the air, and an ever-present sixth sense for danger.
A quick scan of her surroundings revealed no danger.
She turned and went back to the bedroom, pulling out a suitcase. She shoved her son's toys and winter clothes inside, then grabbed her bank cards and other small valuables, packing everything to go.
Once back in her car, Sue Lawrence started the engine and headed for the neighboring city. There was still enough time. Since there was no immediate danger, she would first buy some gold—the only real currency in an apocalypse.
Since driving didn't require much movement, Sue Lawrence decided to test the [Gecko Disguise]. She could clearly feel her own hands on the steering wheel seem to merge with it. Without careful inspection, they were completely invisible. Only by looking very closely could one faintly discern a rippling outline, like a small bump hidden under camouflage.
'No wonder the Skill's description said to find good cover and stay away from people,' she thought. 'If I used this out in the open, I'd definitely be found out.'
Sue Lawrence was so busy mulling over her new Skill's applications as she drove that she didn't notice the look on an old man's face as she passed his roadside stall. His eyes went wide. He instinctively rubbed them and looked again, then pointed a trembling finger at the rear of her car and shouted, "A ghost! There's a ghost! That car has no one in the driver's seat! It's driving itself!"
A passerby glanced over and scoffed. "That's a self-driving car, old-timer. All the new rage!"
No one knew that it wasn't a self-driving car at all, but merely the effect of Sue Lawrence's disguise Skill.
Arriving at Eldoria, Sue Lawrence didn't dare buy everything in one place. She deliberately chose scattered counters, buying a million or so worth of gold at one, then circling around to the one furthest away to buy another million or so, never hitting the same counter twice. After each purchase, she would return to her car, wrap the gold tightly in her son's old clothes, and shove it under the seat. Then she'd change her outfit, fix her hair differently, put on a hat, and head back in, avoiding the counters she had already visited to continue her haul.
By afternoon, Sue Lawrence had bought nearly two hundred pounds of gold, stuffing the space under her car seats until it was completely full. She grabbed a quick bite in Eldoria and then started the drive back. But just as she merged onto the highway, a sudden chill ran down her spine. She was being followed!
She instantly maxed out her Perception. The sense of danger was unnervingly sharp. She instinctively glanced at her rearview mirror.
Traffic on the highway was light, but a silver-gray Nissan stood out. Sue Lawrence recognized it in an instant.
That was the car that had been parked diagonally across from hers in the Eldoria parking lot. She had scanned it with her Perception at the time and sensed no one inside. Later, during one of her trips back and forth, she had seen someone sitting in it, looking like they were just resting. After that, she hadn't noticed any more activity from it and had dismissed it from her mind.
Sue Lawrence's brow furrowed. 'Could it be Tiana Lynch? Am I targeted?'