Chapter 345: Gaining Abilities
Vikram listened to the two women’s concerns and nodded slightly.
"Don’t worry about that. Haven’t you noticed that I’m already developing Territory 3? That area is being prepared for large-scale recruitment."
"In the future, our territory will have two levels of residents."
"The first group will live in Territory 2. These will be the people who have proven their loyalty and contributions over time. They’ll receive better housing, more resources, and greater authority. They’ll also be responsible for managing different departments, leading teams, and maintaining order within the territory. You can think of them as the upper management of our territory."
"The second group will live in Territory 3. Most new survivors will start there. They’ll receive food, shelter, and protection, but they’ll also need to work and prove themselves through their actions. Once they’ve demonstrated enough loyalty, ability, and trustworthiness, they’ll be promoted to Territory 2."
"This way, everyone will have a chance to improve their status while ensuring that the core members of the territory remain trustworthy. It also prevents spies or people with bad intentions from getting close to our most important assets."
Hearing this, the four women nodded in understanding, their eyes filled with admiration. While Divya had only just begun thinking about expanding the territory’s manpower, Vikram had already planned the entire management system and had even begun developing Territory 3 to put it into action.
Ever since his visit to the Zombie Ruin, Vikram had realized that far greater dangers would likely appear in the later stages of the Wasteland.
After his visit to the Vampire Ruin, his determination to expand grew even stronger. That was one of the main reasons he had started developing Territory 3.
Moreover, he no longer feared most natural disasters. His attention had already shifted toward gradually taking control of his surrounding region of the Wasteland.
The Savage Wolf Shelter and the Brown Wood Shelter were the first results of that plan.
As for the remaining nearby forces, Vikram was confident he could bring them under his control within a few months
"Divya, don’t worry about that. First, focus on obtaining a supernatural ability."
As he spoke, Vikram handed the Luck Orb to Divya.
"Use this first, then consume the Tsunami Wave Orb. Previously, you only had a 50% chance of obtaining the ability. After using the Luck Orb, your chances should be much higher."
"Okay," Divya nodded as she accepted the two orbs.
[Tsunami Wave Orb: Gold, Consumable. The user’s four-dimensional physical attributes each increase by 3 points. There is a 50% chance of gaining the special ability, Tsunami Wave.]
[Tsunami Wave: Allows the user to freely control nearby water sources or generate and manipulate a mass of water from their own body.]
[Luck Orb: Purple, Consumable. Consuming it temporarily increases the user’s luck. Its effect disappears after one probabilistic event is triggered.]
Not rushing to consume the two orbs immediately, Divya first walked into the bathroom in her room and carefully washed her hands before holding both orbs in her palms.
She then looked toward Vikram.
"Are you sure this will work?"
"It should," Vikram replied with a smile. "The Luck Orb doesn’t guarantee success, but it significantly increases the probability. I already asked the system about it before."
According to the system, the Luck Orb caused a predetermined probabilistic event to lean toward a favorable outcome. For an event like obtaining a Legendary-level special ability, the probability would increase by approximately 25% to 35%.
"In other words, your chances should be close to eighty percent," Vikram explained.
Hearing that, Divya finally felt relieved.
Without hesitating any longer, she swallowed the Luck Orb. Like every other orb, it melted in her mouth like chocolate.
After waiting for a moment, she picked up the sea-blue Tsunami Wave Orb and swallowed it as well.
A warm current immediately spread throughout her body, flowing through every muscle and bone as her physique rapidly improved.
Divya quietly sensed the changes, expecting another transformation to follow.
A few seconds later, the warm current gradually faded.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Vikram, her expression becoming slightly nervous.
"Did... did it work?"
Vikram also looked at her expectantly, waiting to see whether she had successfully awakened the Tsunami Wave ability.
Here’s the corrected and polished version, with the pronouns fixed for Divya and the scene flowing naturally:
---
He immediately opened the system panel to check Divya’s information.
[Name: Divya
Role: Wife
Strength: 82 + 3
Speed: 83 + 3
Stamina: 83 + 3
Reaction: 82 + 3
Special Abilities: None.]
Vikram carefully scrutinized Divya’s status panel, checking it several times, thinking it might not have refreshed.
In the end, he still couldn’t find any changes under Special Abilities.
Vikram’s shoulders slumped, his face filled with disappointment, and he couldn’t help but curse.
"I * * *..."
Just then, Divya suddenly felt a chilling sensation surge into her mind. A sharp, piercing pain exploded in the back of her head.
"Ah!"
She instinctively clutched her head, her expression twisting in pain.
"What happened?" Vikram asked anxiously as he saw her scream.
However, Divya was in too much pain to answer him.
The stinging sensation only grew more intense. It felt as though countless needles were piercing her brain.
"Ahhh!!"
After letting out another painful scream, her eyelids became increasingly heavy, and her consciousness gradually turned hazy.
A moment later, all the strength left her body, and she collapsed onto the floor.
Hearing the commotion, Anjali, Luna, and the others immediately rushed into the room.
Seeing Divya lying unconscious on the ground, their expressions changed drastically.
"Divya! What happened? Wake up!"
"Wuwuwu... Stinky Vikram! Is Divya going to die?"
In her fading consciousness, Divya vaguely heard Anjali’s anxious voice and Luna’s panicked cries.
Soon after, darkness completely engulfed her consciousness.
—
White Fox Shelter.
Still in that exquisite and comfortable-looking recliner, Jade’s body gently swayed with the chair.
It seemed something good had happened recently, as he was in a good mood.
"Knock knock!"
"Boss, Sokka is looking for you."
Jade, upon hearing this, seemed to recall something. He extinguished the nearly finished cigarette butt in the ashtray and sat up from the recliner.
"Come in."
"Click!"
The door lock was pulled open, and accompanied by the sound of the heavy metal door slowly pushing open, a survivor hurried into the room.
It was indeed Sokka, who had just dealt with Vikram at noon today.
However, his expression was a bit unnatural at this moment. After closing the door behind him, he almost tiptoed to Jade’s front...
Before he could speak, Jade, who was lying on the recliner, lay back down, lit another cigarette, and after exhaling deeply, slowly began, "Sokka, White Fox Shelter has cultivated you quite a bit, hasn’t it?"
"Of course, Boss. White Fox Shelter has shown me great kindness, and I, Sokka, naturally know that."
Jade, expressionless, exhaled the inhaled smoke through his nostrils, hitting Sokka’s slightly awkward face.
"Then tell me, what is your physique now?"
"Boss, my physique has reached around 75 points now."
"Is that high? How does it compare to the wild Survivors outside?"
Realizing Jade was clearly angry, Sokka’s legs went soft after hearing this, and he knelt on the floor covered with a luxurious carpet.
"Boss, it’s not that I didn’t want to bring that troublemaker to you. My physique is indeed very high, but that kid is definitely stronger than me, and not by a little bit."
Seeing Jade’s puzzled expression, Sokka breathed a sigh of relief and quickly told him what had happened today.
"Oh?"
"So, if what you say is true, that kid might even be stronger than me?"
Sokka waved his hands repeatedly after hearing this.
"No, Boss, I didn’t mean that."
"I just feel that Kid really has something, and I don’t know why, but when I stand in front of him, I always feel like my strength has already been seen through."
"But compared to you, Boss, he’s not worth mentioning at all."
Sokka explained, while showing a fawning smile.
Jade put himself in Sokka’s shoes for a moment, confirmed that this wasn’t due to Sokka’s incompetence, and the tense expression on his face relaxed considerably.
"What exactly did that Kid come to our Market for? You’ve at least found that out, right?"
"It’s been found out, Boss. That Kid seems to have come specifically for that Luck Orb."
"Originally, I wanted to use the Orb as a bargaining chip to get him to meet you, but later I heard him say he was going to find Lilith, so I gave the item to that kid. Now I’ve successfully established contact with him."
Learning that Vikram also knew Lilith, Jade’s eyes narrowed slightly, but after hearing Sokka’s proactive approach to win him over, he smiled broadly.
"Well done. I won’t tease you this time. Go and busy yourself."
"Oh, and remember to keep a close eye on that ’big shot’ who suddenly appeared. Gather more information about him."
"Perhaps there’s a possibility of cooperation between us and him?"
"Yes! Boss, your subordinate will send people to pay close attention immediately."
Leaving the room cautiously, Sokka took a deep breath, feeling much more relaxed.
Fortunately, he was clever and did a good deed, otherwise, he would probably have been punished again today.
If anyone had X-ray vision, they would surely discover that beneath Sokka’s thick clothing, not a single patch of his skin was normal.
Countless wounds clung to his body like maggots on a corpse.
Whip marks, flesh scraped away by a small knife, and in some places, there was even no skin at all, as if it had been forcibly torn off by someone, clearly revealing the muscle texture beneath...
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