Chapter 13: The Multi-Talented Treasure Rat!

Ao Chen said, “Look!”

With that, she dove downward, disappearing straight into the ground!

But this wasn’t just the earth—it was the interlayer between buildings!

The surface showed no bumps or damage, as if a little mouse had simply merged seamlessly with the ground.

Soon, the little mouse emerged from behind Ao Xin, transforming into a humanoid beast form.

Her beast form was incredibly adorable: on top of her original appearance, she sprouted large white ears marked with golden stripes, her hands became sharp claws, and a slender white tail appeared behind her.

This was completely different from the sneaky mole fruit!

Knowing that everyone was curious about her ability, Ao Chen didn’t hold back and introduced herself:

“Ahem! Let me solemnly introduce my Devil Fruit power!”

Puffing up her proud little chest, Ao Chen beamed happily:

“My Devil Fruit is called: Zoan Type! Mouse Mouse Fruit! Mythical Beast Species! Treasure Mouse Form!”

“It has three abilities in total!”

“First, I can pass through all soil and stone obstacles. Phasing through the ground or walls is like passing through a thin water curtain to me.”

Everyone had just witnessed this, but hearing it from her still felt remarkable.

“Second, I have an independent treasure storage space that can hold lifeless objects!”

As she spoke, Ao Chen grabbed a mop from the corner and stuffed it into her chest.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they saw the long, thick mop completely vanish inside her chest!

“Whoa?”

Ao Xin was stunned: “A four-dimensional cleavage?”

The key was, this girl wasn’t very big!

Their mother, Zhang Hong, even leaned in and reached inside, feeling around: “Gone?”

Then Ao Chen reached into her chest and pulled the long, thick mop back out.

“How big is this space?” Ao Xin asked, focusing on this critical question.

As far as he knew, during the First Divine Gift period, there were no storage devices.

Whether any would appear later, he wasn’t sure.

But if Ao Chen’s ability gave her a large enough space, she could carry many things without fear of losing them.

Feeling it, Ao Chen said, “Right now it’s only ten cubic meters, but as I develop this fruit, the space will gradually enlarge.”

Then she continued introducing her ability: “That’s not all! I have one more ability!”

Ao Xin was even more amazed.

Phasing through ground and walls, plus personal storage space, was already godlike, and she still had another ability?

Ao Chen proudly said, “The third ability is treasure seeking!”

Treasure seeking? Everyone was puzzled.

Ao Chen explained, “I can sense the aura of treasures and lock onto their location based on that.”

“Currently, my sensing range covers half of Bian City!”

Damn!

Ao Xin nearly swore!

Phasing, storage, treasure seeking.

He felt his own Azure Dragon didn’t seem as impressive now.

But thinking further, the Azure Dragon’s abilities were extensive too.

First, it controlled the three natural elements of wind, fire, and thunder simultaneously.

Second, it wielded flame clouds granting flight.

Lastly, it had much greater strength, defense, speed, and regeneration than other Zoan types.

Comparing the two, the Azure Dragon was better suited for combat, while the Treasure Mouse focused on auxiliary abilities beyond fighting.

“But it has drawbacks,” Ao Chen said with a hint of dejection. Three super abilities meant some trade-offs:

“Unlike other Zoan types, when I shift into beast form, my strength and defense are nearly zero—I have no combat power at all.”

“In humanoid beast form, I gain almost no strength or defense boosts—just like when I’m a normal person—but my speed is very fast!”

“I estimate my speed boost is at least twice that of other mythical beast Zoans!”

At the end, Ao Chen was still quite proud.

This truly wasn’t a combat-focused Devil Fruit, but its usefulness might even surpass the Azure Dragon!

Treasure seeking—what counted as treasure in this era?

Almost without doubt, it was only Devil Fruits!

Of course, that wasn’t entirely true. Ao Xin knew that secret realms would open in the future, and Ao Chen’s ability would help them gain more benefits there.

“By the way, put this Thunderclap Fruit in your treasure space—it’s only safe there.”

After hearing about Ao Chen’s fruit abilities, Ao Xin handed her the Thunderclap Fruit and transferred thirty points of his own score to each of them so they could exchange for training methods in the three types of Haki.

Even without fruits, mastering Haki to its highest level could make one strong.

Indeed, even with fruits, if one’s Haki was weak, they would gradually be eliminated in this apocalypse.

Then he exchanged ordinary military swords for each of them from the Divine Gift Space and led everyone out of the house.

Downstairs, countless zombies roamed endlessly.

Ao Xin transformed into a dragonman and with one strike broke the spine of a zombie, disabling its arms.

He said to his father, “Dad, use this sword to chop off its head.”

Ao Kang hesitated. Though it was a zombie, it had once been a human, and cutting off its head felt like killing.

He found it hard to bring himself to do it.

But how could one hesitate in this apocalypse?

Seeing her father reluctant, Ao Chen volunteered, “Brother! Let me show Dad how it’s done!”

She drew her long sword and with one stroke severed the zombie’s neck!

Thick, sticky blood flowed out, the stench overwhelming.

Ao Kang frowned but, as a doctor, he wasn’t afraid.

Ao Xin repeated the process on another zombie, and this time Liu Xiyao stepped up to chop off its head.

After the two young women demonstrated, Ao Kang finally mustered the courage to act, followed by their mother Zhang Hong, who also beheaded a zombie.

As for Meng Kui?

He was capable of killing zombies single-handedly. As a combat coach, his fighting ability was much stronger than the family’s.

Now they had Haki training methods.

Training Armament Haki relied on ultimate physical conditioning and relentless combat.

Enduring battle was the foundation of growing stronger.

“Dad, you all train near home first. I’ll go hunt zombies further away.”

Fighting zombies wasn’t just for conditioning, but also for earning points.

This was the currency in this apocalypse.

Points could be exchanged for items from the Divine Gift Space or traded with others.

The old money system had collapsed.

“Brother, I want to go with you!”

Ao Chen, seeing him about to leave, quickly grabbed his arm and pleaded.

Ao Xin frowned, “No, I’ll clear some zombies near home. If you get tired, you can come back and rest. Going far out is too dangerous, and your fruit’s combat power isn’t strong.”

Ao Chen said, “I feel there’s treasure in the southwest. I can lead you to seek it!”

Treasure?

Ao Chen’s words startled Ao Xin.

Besides Devil Fruits, what else could be considered treasure now?

“Alright, stick close to me and don’t run off on your own!”

“Mm-hmm!” Ao Chen nodded eagerly like a little chick pecking rice.

He instructed Meng Kui, “Protect my parents well.”

Meng Kui nodded solemnly, “No problem! I guarantee no harm will come to the boss’s family!”