"… this wooden box has a hidden compartment too."
Luciel traced the bottom of the wooden box with his fingers and detected a hollow sound. Using his saber, he pried open the plank and found a small cloth bag. Inside were seeds.
"Vegetable seeds… no wonder they were hidden," Luciel murmured with a smile. He tucked the bag into his backpack.
In this wasteland-like apocalyptic world, even a few seeds represented hope—a chance to revive civilization someday.
Searching the leader's room further, Luciel opened a nearby closet and found another surprise: five rolls of cloth in different colors, neatly stacked.
"There's a lot of stuff here… I'll need help moving it."
He touched his chin thoughtfully, thinking about transporting everything he wanted from the leader's room. In this world, basic supplies were rare. Who knew when they might cross paths with another scavenger?
"Xiao Cai, sneak in."
Using his mind, Luciel summoned the tricolor lizard secretly, letting it climb over to assist in moving the items. The rock tortoise was too large to summon.
Luciel bundled five rolls of cloth and the swords he'd taken and handed them over mentally to the lizard. Observing its small frame, he frowned.
"Seems like I need to evolve you to level 3 now."
He pressed his palm against the tricolor lizard.
"Ding! Level 2 tricolor lizard evolves to level 3, deducting 100 evolution points."
"Ding! Level 3 tricolor lizard evolved successfully."
"Ding! Level 3 tricolor lizard talent evolution: Mimic Stealth."
"Ding! Deploy trainer's 'Mimic Stealth' ability to synchronize Level 3."
The familiar warm current ran through Luciel's body. Strength surged again.
"Stealth… invisible while moving?" he mused. Activating the ability, his body shifted color to match the environment.
"Not perfect—about a one-second delay when the environment changes, and faster movement worsens the lag. But for stealth, it's excellent."
Satisfied, Luciel surveyed the tricolor lizard. Its body had doubled in size to two meters. Its scales now formed distinct patches of green, red, and blue. Several spikes framed its head, and the vertical brown pupils gleamed coldly.
"Xiao Cai, let's give you wings someday. Then you can pretend to be a dragon," Luciel joked, patting its head.
"Hiss~~" The lizard tilted its head, clearly unsure what a dragon was.
"Stay put and carry these things," Luciel instructed. He tied the cloth, wolf skin, and swords to its back.
"Hiss~~" The lizard squirmed.
"Go ahead, let Mino help unload, and then come back."
The tricolor lizard climbed out the window, claws leaving faint marks in the wood.
"Hurry. The leader's death will be discovered soon," Luciel whispered, leaving the room to search further.
The maids were obedient, quietly waiting in corners for instructions. Luciel moved with purpose—after all, horses don't fatten without night grass, and he had come for food.
As he explored, he spotted a sneaking figure.
"Huh? Isn't that Agu?"
Luciel followed silently. Agu glanced around, then entered a storage room. Through the crack of the door, Luciel saw a stash of food, with a maid assisting him.
Cheating? A flash of irritation struck Luciel.
"Agu, are you crazy? Taking so much meat? The leader's going to notice!" he thought.
Agu, desperate, muttered to the maid, "I didn't go to the hill today… I thought I could interrupt the leader's plan. Didn't expect he contacted Bloodbeard in advance."
The maid nodded, frightened, and started gathering food.
Luciel let her leave, watching Agu clutch his stolen jerky. Plans shift in real time, and the leader's cruelty had changed the balance.
Luciel smiled faintly. Some things can't be predicted—but with the tricolor lizard and his system, he could adapt.