"Huh?!!!"

Lin Li’s face filled with surprise as he gazed at the Spirit Plant before him. It had grown by another ten centimeters or so and now stood at a height of about 2.1 meters.

He hadn’t seen the Spirit Plant in a few days, and it had grown taller again. Moreover, the number of Spirit Fruits on its branches had also multiplied. He wasn’t sure of the exact amount, but judging by the density, there were at least a hundred more than before.

Lin Li was thrilled to see the Spirit Plant, which previously had over two hundred Spirit Fruits, now bearing more than three hundred.

The increase in the number of Spirit Fruits gave him more confidence to wage a war of attrition against his enemies.

RUMBLE...

Just as Lin Li was smiling at the Spirit Plant covered in Spirit Fruits, his stomach suddenly let out a loud rumble.

More than four hours had passed since dinner. Tilling the land was hard physical labor, and ever since eating that magical little fruit, Lin Li’s appetite had greatly increased. After all that work, he was absolutely starving.

RUMBLE...

Patting his stomach, Lin Li had a thought, left the Mysterious Small Island, and returned to his home in the real world.

...

It was nearly midnight. In the brightly lit living room, a mindless variety show played on TV as Lin Li lounged on the soft sofa, playing a mobile game.

DING DONG.

The doorbell rang. Lin Li, still lying on the sofa playing his game, immediately quit, got up, and hurried to the entryway.

CLICK.

He opened the door to find a delivery guy drenched in sweat.

"Sir, your delivery... *huff*..." The breathless delivery guy handed two large bags of food to Lin Li, then turned and left, rushing to make his next delivery.

’That’s a tough job! I’ll give him a five-star review later...’ Lin Li muttered to himself as he watched the delivery guy hurry away. He then carried the two large bags of food back into the living room.

RUMBLE...

Lin Li’s stomach was rumbling with hunger. Once back in the living room, he immediately opened a bag, pulled out a fried chicken leg, and eagerly began to eat.

This time, he had ordered not from KFC but from McDonald’s: a total of fifteen Big Macs, fifteen fried chicken legs, six chicken wraps, three orders of fries, and two boxes of chicken nuggets.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH...

After devouring five Big Macs in a row, his rumbling stomach finally quieted down.

’I was so focused on eating, I forgot my soda...’

Lin Li left the living room for the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, took out a two-liter bottle of cola and a large glass, and then returned to the living room.

SPLASH...

After pouring the glass three-quarters full of cola, Lin Li didn’t immediately chug it down. He raised his right hand, and a faint golden Spiritual Light bloomed in his palm.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE...

First, an ice crystal the size of a fingernail appeared above his palm, then this small crystal began to expand rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, the small crystal had become a ten-centimeter-long icicle.

’Needs a little ice to be perfect...’ Lin Li placed the icicle he had created with his Superpower into the large glass of cola, then took a long, satisfying gulp.

"Ahh... so refreshing... Cola just tastes different with ice."

There weren’t many people who could eat this much food by themselves after midnight, but Lin Li was one of them.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH...

After finishing off a fried chicken leg, Lin Li picked up the remote and changed the channel.

He reached into the bag for another Big Mac, but just as he was about to take a bite, a news report on the television caught his attention.

"Today, researchers from the Spiritual Energy Research Institute discovered a Spiritual Energy Vein near Erxian Bridge, on the outskirts of the West District.

According to the latest information our station has received from the Spiritual Energy Research Institute, this newly discovered Spiritual Energy Vein is a small one..."

Lin Li took a bite of his Big Mac as he watched the pretty news anchor report on the discovery of the Spiritual Energy Vein, his thoughts beginning to drift.

’I can’t believe they actually found a Spiritual Energy Vein near Erxian Bridge.

Even if it’s just a small Spiritual Energy Vein, they’ll probably mine at least a million Spirit Stones from it. If you cashed that in, it’d be worth tens of billions!

If I could find a Spiritual Energy Vein of that size out in the wild, I’d never have to worry about Spirit Stones again.’

The midnight news was quite interesting. The pretty anchor reported on many stories about Cultivators and the situation with Mutant Beasts in the wilderness.

"The fugitive Tie Qiu Heng and his two accomplices, who recently escaped from South District Prison, have yet to be captured despite a full-scale manhunt by Investigators from the Superpower Administration Bureau.

If any citizens have relevant information, please call the Superpower Administration Bureau.

Any confirmed tips will be met with a corresponding reward..."

Before signing off, the pretty news anchor brought up the matter of Tie Qiu Heng, the fugitive from South District Prison, one more time.

’The Investigators from the Superpower Administration Bureau have been searching for days and still haven’t found them. Those guys really know how to hide!’

After finishing his Big Mac, Lin Li watched the news report about Tie Qiu Heng with perfect composure. He picked up his iced-down cola and took another large gulp.

’It’d be great if that guy showed up at my door looking for revenge right now. I could make a quick buck from the reward money...’

Lin Li picked up a bag of fries, which had gone a bit soft from the steam. He tore open a ketchup packet, squeezed it out, and after one bite, mentally gave them a low score.

A short while later, Lin Li had finished the entire mountain of food he had ordered.

Full and satisfied, he played on his phone in the living room for a while longer before finally heading to his bedroom to sleep at nearly one in the morning.

He had stayed up so late because he didn’t have to get up early the next day to hunt Mutant Beasts in the wilderness and was planning to sleep in.

...

「Late the next morning.」

Lin Li, who hadn’t slept in for a while, slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed them and let out a yawn.

He reached for the phone on his nightstand and checked the time.

He’d really slept in; it was already 10:30 AM.

"Yaaawn~"

He yawned again. Lin Li had been planning to doze for a bit longer and only get up around lunchtime, but he suddenly heard the doorbell ring from outside his bedroom.

RING RING RING...

"Who is it?" Lin Li grumbled. He threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked toward the entryway.

CLICK.

A plump, well-to-do-looking woman who appeared to be nearly sixty stood at the door.

"Ms. Wang?"

The older woman standing at his door was Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee.

Seeing Lin Li’s messy hair and the sleep still lingering on his face, she knew he had just been sleeping.

"Lin! It’s this late, and you’re still not up?" Ms. Wang said, a little surprised.

Lin Li smiled and scratched his messy hair, thinking to himself that it was getting a bit long. ’I should go get a haircut later.’

"I went to bed late last night, so I couldn’t get up this morning. Ms. Wang, did you need me for something?"

Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee guessed Lin Li had stayed up late playing games or something of the sort, so she didn’t find it particularly strange.

Young people these days have such colorful nightlives. Even if it wasn’t video games, there were always other activities. It meant many of them went to bed very late and naturally woke up late in the morning.

Her own grandson was like that, at least. He was often out with his friends at nightclubs, not coming home until the wee hours of the morning.

...