The White Fox was most unwillingly trimming flowers and plants in the yard, while Lin Yuan was in the bathroom taking a hot shower, observing his body in the mirror.
Most of the tattoos on his body still showed no signs of change. The large amount of Deceitful Qi obtained from hunting the Fire Gu last night also didn't awaken the Black and White Impermanence Tattoo.
No, the Black and White Impermanence Tattoo remained unchanged as before, without the slightest variation.
In that case, where did all the Deceitful Qi from hunting the Fire Gu go?
Soon, Lin Yuan discovered the unusual aspect of his tattoos.
Deceitful Gate?
Indeed, the Black and White Impermanence Tattoo hadn't changed.
However, the Deceitful Gate Tattoo had become more solid.
The illustrations on Lin Yuan's body depicted Ox Head and Horse Face guarding in front of the Deceitful Gate.
With this realization, Lin Yuan understood the sequence of his tattoo awakenings.
After Ox Head and Horse Face, it was the Deceitful Gate Tattoo that awakened.
Only afterward would be the Black and White Impermanence Tattoo...
Lin Yuan focused his thoughts, wanting to summon the Deceitful Gate Tattoo to test its purpose.
"Buzz."
"Buzz, buzz."
However, the Deceitful Gate Tattoo buzzed continuously but never managed to break free of his skin and materialize as a spirit.
Not enough!
It seems that the Deceitful Qi is still insufficient.
To awaken the Deceitful Gate Tattoo requires much more Deceitful Qi than the Ox Head and Horse Face Tattoo.
It seems he must continue hunting Deceitful Charms and Evil Spirits.
If he hadn't just moved to the villa and needed a servant to manage it,
Lin Yuan truly thought about getting rid of the White Fox, thinking doing so might earn a considerable amount of Deceitful Qi.
Once confirming that the inability to awaken the Deceitful Gate Tattoo was due to insufficient Deceitful Qi, Lin Yuan no longer dwelled on it.
Today was only the first day of the eerie invasion; there will be plenty of opportunities to hunt Deceitful Charms and Evil Spirits and collect Deceitful Qi.
Moreover, the more Deceitful Qi required to awaken the Deceitful Gate Tattoo, the stronger its Tattoo Ability would be.
...
...
Six in the morning.
It was already light.
The blood moon had temporarily disappeared,
making it seem as though everything had returned to normal.
However, the constant sounding of air raid sirens and the continuous notifications on mobile phones, reminded everyone.
The disaster had only just begun.
Compared to humans who had no idea what tomorrow would bring, Lin Yuan was living quite comfortably.
He was stewing an eagle.
No, more accurately, he was stewing a fox.
The White Fox didn't seem too content with her owner!
Due to the Power of Rules, as long as Lin Yuan didn't call her to stop, she would never stop.
At this moment, she was in the garden, holding big scissors while pruning flowers and plants, mentally reviewing where the error occurred in her request for a title yesterday.
It shouldn't be like this!
Why did it end up this way?
The CPU of the White Fox was almost overheating, still unable to understand the cause and effect.
While the White Fox was working, Lin Yuan sat in a rocking chair watching.
Occasionally he pointed and directed, "Trim that flower tree again, make it more refined."
"The pine tree on the right, trim it into the shape of a pagoda."
"You're working, why keep muttering under your breath? What's the matter, didn't I pay you?"
Lin Yuan suddenly thought about it, well, indeed he hadn't paid her.
Seeing Lin Yuan gesturing and directing, the White Fox was furious; if it weren't for the Power of Rules, she assured him, she would have used the scissors for pruning flowers and plants to give Lin Yuan a bald head.
Around ten o'clock in the morning, the garden was trimmed neatly.
No one approached the yard the entire morning; Lin Yuan did indeed pick a quiet and nice place.
"Ahem!" Lin Yuan gave a couple of dry coughs and shouted towards the White Fox, "Come over here."
The White Fox held a deep grudge against Lin Yuan, not wanting to pay him any heed.
However, her body could not resist Lin Yuan's command.
With her thoughts going against her body, she walked over to Lin Yuan with her long legs.
"Do you submit?" Lin Yuan asked, looking her up and down.
"Sub..."
"Submit!" The White Fox squeezed the words out through clenched teeth.
Having trimmed flowers and plants all night, the White Fox had come to terms with it.
With the effect of the Power of Rules, confronting Lin Yuan head-on would always end in her disadvantage.
She decided to bide her time and deal with Lin Yuan after finding a way to remove the Power of Rules binding her.
The White Fox thought, you just wait, just you wait for me.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west, don't despise the impoverished fox.
Once I've unlocked the Power of Rules binding me, I'll make you lick my feet and shout "Hail to the Queen."
As for now, I'll just have to endure it for the time being.
"Call me 'Master', let me hear it," Lin Yuan continued.
"Don't push me too far!" The White Fox pointed at Lin Yuan.
"What?" Lin Yuan blinked, then righteously said, "To push too far, you first need to be a person!"
"Moreover, I'm telling you, the laws of this world only protect humans, not you?"
"Actually, your human form is quite good-looking!"
"Don't provoke me, okay? Or who knows what I might do to you."
Lin Yuan glared, startling the White Fox, who begrudgingly called out, "Master!"
"That's it!"
"That's more like it!"
"A wise fox doesn't suffer immediate losses; why are you being so stubborn!" Lin Yuan advised, patting the White Fox's head, and teased, "I actually like your rebellious side from yesterday."
"Creak."
"Creak, creak."
The White Fox's teeth ground together with a "creak," almost uncontrollably wanting to bite Lin Yuan.
"Do you have a name?"
"If you don't have a name, I can give you one!"
"I'm great at naming, how about I call you Little Black?" Lin Yuan asked the White Fox.
White Fox: "?????"
The White Fox was completely dumbfounded!
The White Fox thought, are you freaking blind?
Before I transformed, I was white, and you call me Little Black?
Even after I transformed, I don't look anything like black, right?
Black, where am I black?
Just say it, where am I black!
"I have a name!"
"Bai Ling'Er!" the White Fox said angrily.
"Bai Lin?"
"Isn't Bai Lin a bird? You're a fox!" Lin Yuan started talking nonsense with a straight face.
White Fox: "?????"
The White Fox was speechless. She just wanted to say, I beg you to read more books.
My name is Bai Ling'Er, not Bai Lin.
Encountering such a silly owner, Bai Ling'Er was nearly driven crazy.
"Slap!" Lin Yuan slapped Bai Ling'Er's round butt and laughed, "I'm just teasing you!"
"Bai Ling'Er, right! Go cook, I'm hungry!"
Bai Ling'Er blushed with embarrassment, angrily thinking, I spent the whole night cultivating flowers and plants, and now you want me to cook.
Capitalist, you're worse than a capitalist!
You'll see, one day I'll hang you on a street lamp.
"Can't do it!" Bai Ling'Er said peevishly.
Hearing this, Lin Yuan thought, is this little fox starting to act rebellious again?
If you won't cook, then I'll have to do something else with you!
Seeing Lin Yuan looking at her with bad intentions, Bai Ling'Er shrugged helplessly and said, "A clever housewife cannot cook without rice. No grains, no vegetables, how can I cook?"
Lin Yuan then realized that although the villa was fully furnished and equipped with appliances, ready to move in, there were no ingredients for cooking.
Though Lin Yuan had awakened his tattoo abilities and gained extraordinary powers, his body was essentially still human.
As a human, he needed to eat.
Having been busy all night, he was truly hungry.
"Supermarkets and shops should be closed, but there should be things inside."
"Never mind, I'll find a supermarket and grab some stuff myself!" Lin Yuan thought as he rubbed his chin.
Actually, in the era of strange happenings, as long as you have the ability, food is not really scarce.
Evil Spirits, Deceitful Charm, and Demon Fiends don't eat grains, only people.
As time goes by, the population drastically decreases.
Even if no one produces anything, the existing food is enough to last the survivors for many years.
In the later stages of the strange invasion, after humans established shelters guarded by Life Pattern Masters.
In the shelters, they were able to grow grains and produce food.
Now, most people should be hiding at home, too afraid to go out.
In places like supermarkets, Lin Yuan could just go in and take whatever he needed.
As for paying?
There's no need for that anymore.
According to Lin Yuan's experiences before being reborn, the monetary system would soon collapse, and by then, money would be as good as waste paper.
The reconstruction of the monetary system would have to wait until a year later, when the official shelters were established.
"Stay here, don't move, I'll go get you some oranges," Lin Yuan said to Bai Ling'er.
Bai Ling'Er: "????"
Bai Ling'Er was confused, clearly not understanding what Lin Yuan meant.
Lin Yuan thought, you're a Demon Fiend, you wouldn't get this joke.
What I mean is, I want you to call me dad!
"What I mean is, you stay here!"
"I'll go handle the food situation," Lin Yuan explained in a way Bai Ling'Er could understand.
Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on Bai Ling'Er's face.
Bai Ling'Er thought, you're going out!
As soon as you step out, I'll make a run for it.
"You want to run?" Lin Yuan asked, looking at Bai Ling'Er.
Bai Ling'Er shook her head rapidly like a rattle, saying, "No, no."
No?
You heard I'm going out, and your smile reached your crotch.
"Never mind, come with me!"
"Remember, don't be more than ten meters away from me," Lin Yuan said to Bai Ling'Er.
Bai Ling'Er was currently in human form, so taking her out wouldn't be an issue.
Although some people had awakened tattoo abilities, they were all newbies, rookies.
These newbies, rookies, couldn't distinguish whether Bai Ling'Er was human or demon.
Lin Yuan opened the phone's navigation app, did a quick search for the nearest supermarket.
"What's this?" Bai Ling'Er asked, pointing at Lin Yuan's phone with curiosity.
Obviously, in their world, there were no electronic devices like mobile phones.
"A mobile phone, I'll give you one later!" Lin Yuan replied.
In the Strange Invasion 1.0 era, if you wanted something, you could just take it for free.
Giving Bai Ling'Er a phone was no pressure at all.
After checking the route, Lin Yuan took Bai Ling'Er and left the villa area.
In daytime, the highways were actually empty.
Those who were leaving had already rushed out overnight, while those left likely hadn't yet recovered from the shock of the strange invasion.
Now, they were probably still hiding at home, trembling with fear!
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