Chapter 125: Three Joyous Occasions at Once

"Power of Thunder: attacks carry a lightning attribute, dealing massive damage and a paralysis effect to enemies."
"It can be released three times daily, lasting ten minutes each time, with double damage against zombies."

To be honest, if it were before, Fang Xia might have considered such an ability useless. After all, he possessed teleportation; he could simply blink over and strike with a blade, so why would he need a redundant lightning attachment? But his perspective had broadened. He no longer focused on low-level or even equal-level threats; he was now looking toward high-level opponents.

Take the last battle, for instance. If he had possessed the lightning ability, the moment his first blow landed—even if it hadn't struck the zombie’s vitals—the paralysis effect would have been enough for him to secure the victory. Surprise alone was not enough; without sufficient damage, he couldn't pose a significant threat to high-level zombies. Given their reaction speeds, they could, if not easily, certainly avoid fatal blows. The addition of this Power of Thunder was like adding wings to a tiger. With teleportation combined with the formidable lightning power, unless the power gap was truly insurmountable, fighting above his rank was no longer a problem.

When Fang Xia pushed the door open and stepped out, he made no effort to hide the expression on his face. Seeing his smile, Jing Ru knew immediately that tonight’s drinks were secured.

"Ladies, let's get this party started!"

Jing Ru brought out the dishes one by one. Thanks to the properties of her spatial equipment, they were still steaming hot. She then looked expectantly at Liu Rui and the little girl. A party couldn't possibly be sustained by these eight leftover dishes alone. However, the other two ignored her completely.

*Are you crazy? We don't even know what the ability is yet, and you're already celebrating? What if it's an ability that accelerates crop growth? You can't expect Brother Fang to go out and fertilize the fields every day!*

*Wait... if he finishes one field and immediately teleports to the next, the efficiency would actually be quite high.*

Thinking this, Liu Rui looked at Fang Xia with some worry, but seeing the smile on his face, she realized she was overthinking it. The ability was certainly real, and it was definitely useful.

"Power of Thunder."

Facing the curious women, Fang Xia gave a brief explanation of his new ability. The women gasped in amazement, nearly calling out for more details. Fang Xia knew that most of them were just joining in the excitement; only Liu Rui, Bai Xing, and perhaps Li Xiaochun truly understood how powerful this ability was.

Bai Xing, in particular, had her first reaction upon hearing the description: she thought back to their previous battle against the Level 5 zombie. If they had possessed this skill back then, there wouldn't have been any complications at all. This skill, combined with Fang Xia’s teleportation, was indeed incredibly potent. Seeing the smile on Fang Xia’s face, it was clear he was satisfied with his new ability. Now, whether they truly understood it or not, everyone’s faces were wreathed in smiles. Since Brother Fang himself was satisfied, what else was there to say?

Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Xing brought out the Basic Upgrade Serum. "Give this to Li Xiaochun; we’ve all already taken one."

The Basic Upgrade Serum could double one’s basic physical attributes, allowing a person to win at the starting line. The previous Li Xiaochun had seemed brave, but that was because she was naturally combative and possessed a "Toughness" ability. If one were to calculate her true strength, she would have struggled to defeat male ability users of the same level. The gender difference was a reality; unless she used a rank disparity to crush them, she wouldn't be an opponent. But with this, it was different—her starting point far exceeded that of ordinary people. The title of "War Goddess" would carry even more weight.

With Fang Xia giving the nod, Bai Xing hurriedly handed the item to Li Xiaochun. Li Xiaochun had been coveting it all day, especially after knowing that Liu Rui and Bai Xing had both taken one. Now that it was finally in her hands, she didn't hesitate and drank it in one gulp. There was no pain involved; it was a purely refreshing experience, though she would need a shower afterward to wash off the sticky residue.

"Three happy events at once! Let’s drink until we drop tonight!"

Seeing that everything had been settled, Jing Ru shouted again. This time, no one stopped her; instead, they cooperatively brought out plenty of alcohol.

"I’ll go announce that tomorrow is a day off, and I’ll distribute some bonuses to everyone. I'll tell them it's a grand reward because the team leader made a breakthrough. How does that sound?" Liu Rui joked. Fang Xia smiled as well. He knew Liu Rui’s little scheme—she just wanted the team members to care more about him. The funny thing was, she didn't even feel jealous about it. But then again, looking at the women on the second floor, each one of them was exceptional, and even now, he hadn't fully "conquered" half of them. As for the other young ladies in the team, Fang Xia really didn't have that kind of mindset right now.

Liu Rui went downstairs, followed shortly by the little girl, who went to tell the female cooks to work overtime and prepare a barbecue for them. Soon, cheers from the young women echoed throughout the entire territory, audible even to those on the second floor. It left the others in the territory quite confused—was there some major event tonight? Why were these women so excited?

Soon, Lu Dezhi and Guo Yu, having heard the news, hurried over to ask what was happening. Fang Xia stepped out personally to explain the situation, then shooed away Lu Dezhi, who was ready to start flattering him. Before he left, however, he gave him two pounds of wild boar meat as a sign of appreciation for his timely arrival. After Lu Dezhi left, Fang Xia brought Guo Yu up to the second floor—he was like a younger brother, so he was treated differently.

On the second floor, under Jing Ru’s lead, the others were already making a ruckus. They only toned it down slightly when they saw Fang Xia bring Guo Yu up. But Guo Yu was the one who felt even more nervous.

"Good evening, sisters-in-law."

Guo Yu kept his head down, his fingers nervously rubbing his clothes, his toes practically digging into the floorboards. Seeing that Guo Yu was far too restrained, Fang Xia simply grabbed a large handful of barbecue skewers and gave them to him, telling him to take them back to eat with his mother. Guo Yu looked as if he had been granted an amnesty; he quickly grabbed the food and ran off. As he ran, he thought to himself: *Brother Fang is truly Brother Fang, so amazing. To be able to stay so calm in the face of so many women.*

With Guo Yu gone, Liu Rui returned. Although they were set on having a wild night, there had to be some limits, so everyone drank beer and red wine. They skipped the hard liquor; they had tried it last time, and everyone ended up passed out, leaving Fang Xia to deal with the aftermath.

As the drinks flowed and the skewers kept coming, everyone let their hair down. They showed sides of themselves completely different from their daily personas. After all, everyone on the second floor was part of their inner circle, so what was there to fear?

And so, Fang Xia gained some new insights. Jing Ru insisted that even though they were twins, she was definitely more "developed" than her sister, and she nearly stripped right there to let everyone compare.