Chapter 14: The Treasure Hunt, the Surgery Fruit!

Ao Xin led Ao Chen toward the southeast. Both were in their anthropomorphic beast forms, and the speed of the multi-treasure mouse took Ao Xin by surprise. Thanks to their swiftness and the incredible ability to burrow underground, the zombies couldn’t even graze the hem of Ao Chen’s clothes. Although Ao Chen’s own attack power was mediocre, she could wear down zombies through agile combat.

Thud! With another swing, Ao Xin crushed a zombie’s skull, while Ao Chen successfully beheaded another. Yet, repeatedly using their abilities left her panting and exhausted. Still, she proudly boasted to Ao Xin, “Big brother! I killed another zombie!”

Seeing the girl’s eager expression for praise, Ao Xin smiled and said, “My little Chen is really strong!”

“Yeah!” The girl’s beautiful eyes curved into crescents, dimples appearing on her cheeks at the compliment. But such pride was a luxury in battle. Suddenly, a zombie lunged from behind, biting at Ao Chen’s neck. Startled, she tried to burrow underground to escape, but heavy fatigue prevented her from doing so.

The zombie drew closer, and at the critical moment, Ao Xin smashed its head to pieces with a single blow.

“Brother, I’m too tired to fight anymore.” Ao Chen gasped, not having trained as hard as Ao Xin did over the past month, nor possessing the genius talent known as the Haki. With Ao Xin’s points, she had merely gained the qualification to train in Haki but hadn’t awakened it yet. The multi-treasure mouse form didn’t grant much stamina either; fighting this long was thanks to her usual exercise routine.

“Point me in a direction, I’ll take you there!” Ao Xin said.

Ao Chen sheathed her long blade into the treasure space, transformed into her beast form, and climbed onto Ao Xin’s shoulder. The tiny mouse the size of a palm nuzzled Ao Xin’s scaly cheek, and her familiar voice whispered in his ear: “There!”

Ao Xin immediately transformed into his dragon form, roaring fiercely, the sound echoing across the land. It startled countless people hiding in apartment buildings, who peeked out to see a blue dragon riding on fiery clouds, soaring straight into the clouds.

“A blue dragon! It’s the blue dragon master from the videos!”

“The blue dragon master has come to Bian City? Can he clear out all the zombies here?”

“Maybe the blue dragon master is from Bian City after all!”

Someone recorded the dragon’s flight and uploaded the footage to the Divine Gift Space communication channel. They dared not confront zombies directly, hiding indoors and communicating with people worldwide via the Divine Gift platform.

Soon, a video titled “Blue Dragon Master Suspected to Be from Bian City” topped trending searches, and comments surged past one hundred thousand.

“The blue dragon master is one of the strongest! Can he eradicate the zombies and restore order to the world?”

“Over a hundred people worldwide have eaten Devil Fruits now, but few have combat power like the blue dragon master. I think he’s the strongest—no one else compares!”

“It looks like the blue dragon master is leaving Bian City. Maybe he’s just passing through; otherwise, he would have hunted zombies here for points.”

...

Above Bian City, following Ao Chen’s direction, Ao Xin soon arrived at the location she indicated held treasure.

“Brother! There! In that grove of trees!”

In her multi-treasure mouse form, Ao Chen sniffed eagerly, sensing the treasure growing stronger the closer they got.

Ao Xin landed, shifting back into his anthropomorphic beast form. Ao Chen leapt down from his shoulder, reverting as well. Together, they dashed into the woods.

Few people lived here, and zombies were sparse. Only a handful of zombies were scattered about, their skulls easily crushed by Ao Xin.

“Ah! Stop!” Suddenly, Ao Chen screamed. Beneath a large pine tree, a shabby-looking man was clutching a red, heart-shaped fruit, his excitement palpable.

He had fled the city, intending to hide in the deserted outskirts, only to find this Devil Fruit in the woods. He wasn’t a Devil Fruit user and didn’t know what it was, but from the Divine Gift Space forums, he understood that whatever it was, it was a priceless treasure.

“Hahaha! This unimaginable fortune is mine now, Wang Defa!” he grinned, revealing yellow teeth, about to bite into it.

Ao Xin and Ao Chen’s expressions changed instantly. Too late—Ao Xin unleashed a blast of hot breath that engulfed the man. The man didn’t even scream before turning to ashes.

Ao Xin and Ao Chen hurried over, saw the Devil Fruit unharmed among the ashes, and quickly retrieved it.

Having survived the apocalypse, Ao Xin had long abandoned mercy. He was no saint; killing for treasure was the norm in this end-of-days world.

Ao Chen, however, felt a pang of guilt. Killing a living person for a fruit went against everything she had been taught.

Ao Xin said, “In the apocalypse, only the law of the jungle applies. Strength is justice; weakness is sin.”

“If I lacked this power and the fruit was found by a stronger one, I’d meet the same fate as that man.”

Ao Chen nodded softly. Though it was only the second day of the apocalypse, she had already glimpsed humanity’s ugliness through the Divine Gift forums.

Killing for treasure at least had a reason. In the apocalypse, far more often, people unleashed the darkest sides of their nature without cause.

“I understand, brother.”

Though she accepted this truth, a heavy sadness lingered in her heart. She clung to Ao Xin’s arm tightly as they both gazed at the fruit.

The red, heart-shaped Devil Fruit bore black swirling patterns. As seasoned Devil Fruit enthusiasts, they recognized it instantly.

This was the most valuable fruit in the pirate world—just like the Nika Fruit, worth five billion berries.

It was the Surgery Fruit.

Ao Xin glanced at the charred remains on the ground. The Surgery Fruit’s power was formidable; in the previous world, its user was a renowned powerhouse.

But this despicable man bore no resemblance to that legendary figure.

Most likely, he ate the fruit and died soon after, causing the Surgery Fruit to respawn elsewhere in the world, only to be consumed by a true strong fighter.

In the apocalypse, Devil Fruits functioned like in the manga: if the user died, the fruit would randomly respawn.

Later on, some martial artists sought to hunt weaker Devil Fruit users, aiming to acquire the respawned fruits themselves.

But success was rare, as no one could predict where the fruits would appear.

“Brother, the Surgery Fruit would be perfect for Dad. He’d definitely love it!”

Ao Xin immediately thought of the best place for this fruit.

Their father, Ao Kang, was a surgeon, so he would surely be interested.

“Exactly what I was thinking. Put it into your treasure space.”

With Ao Chen by his side, Ao Xin didn’t bother carrying his big backpack—the little girl was the best pack there was: safe, efficient, and extremely useful!

Grinning, Ao Chen tucked the Surgery Fruit into her chest. It was found using her own abilities, a contribution she made to their family. She was very happy.