Chapter 10 - 9: Upgrading the Villa, Aerospace-Grade Alloy Steel!

Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Upgrading the Villa, Aerospace-Grade Alloy Steel!

After witnessing the "superpower" displayed by Liu Zimo, Zhao Hongzhang’s eyes shone with excitement. His face flushed red, and he was so thrilled that he didn’t sleep a wink all night.

Even when he finally couldn’t hold on any longer in the early hours of the morning and face-planted onto his bed, he kept sleep-talking:

"We have superpowers, what the hell is there to be afraid of? Whoever dares to defy us, we’ll kick their asses!

"The Invincible Hulk, Spider-Man, The Flash, here I come!

"Hahaha..."

In the next room, Liu Zimo, who was meditating and regulating his breathing, couldn’t help but twitch his mouth when he heard his younger uncle’s adolescent sleep-talking.

"Uncle Hongzhang is really an overgrown child!" he thought. "Dad actually expects him to keep this a secret. With his sleep-talking habit, how many secrets can he possibly hide?"

The next day.

Liu Zimo ended his meditation before dawn. After a quick wash, he quietly left the house. He found an empty, deserted spot in a park near the residential area and earnestly practiced his punches and stances, tempering his muscles and bones.

This was a habit he had cultivated over the past thirty years, come rain or shine. Since his Martial Arts Talent was extremely ordinary, he could only make up for his lack of talent with sheer hard work, spending more time and energy to constantly temper his body.

Now, even after returning to thirty years in the past and awakening the Heaven-Stealing superpower, Liu Zimo never entertained the slightest thought of slacking off. This was not only because it had become second nature, but also because his desire and pursuit of absolute power had never ceased.

The future world would be far too perilous. Liu Zimo, who struggled on the brink of life and death every day, was just like most survivors—he deeply lacked a sense of security. Only by constantly practicing martial arts and growing stronger could he feel at ease.

Furthermore, the current world wasn’t necessarily safe!

The Illusion Cat that had appeared in his uncle’s house last night had already sounded an early alarm for him. In his previous life, he had never heard of Demon Beasts existing on Earth before the global Demon Calamity fully descended!

Of course, it might be because he had always lived at the very bottom of society, where information was blocked, so he had never heard any news of the sort. Or perhaps these early-awakened Demon Beasts, just like that Illusion Cat, hid themselves far too well and had simply never been discovered.

Whatever the reason, the truth was already right in front of him, forcing Liu Zimo to be even more cautious.

Just like the Martial Arts Powerhouses who sensed the existence of Spiritual Energy before its massive outbreak, using the opportunity to push past their limits and break through to higher Martial Dao realms, the Demon Beasts that managed to awaken before the Demon Calamity struck possessed talent and potential far beyond that of ordinary beasts.

Among them, there could very well be exceptionally gifted beasts that had awakened incredibly potent Divine Abilities. Liu Zimo didn’t naively think that having only reached Great Success in the Copper Skin Realm would allow him to stride unchallenged in this era.

Therefore, unremitting cultivation and constant self-improvement were his only guarantees of safety, both now and in the future.

An hour quickly passed.

Sweating profusely, Liu Zimo finished a set of the Five Animals Fist, having thoroughly stretched every inch of his muscles and bones. It wasn’t until the sky was completely bright and the number of people doing morning exercises in the park gradually increased that he stopped and retracted his stance. He then bought some soy milk and fried dough sticks from a nearby breakfast stall and headed back.

Upon entering the house, he saw that his dad was already up and washing in the bathroom. His uncle and younger brother were still sound asleep in bed.

Liu Zimo placed the breakfast on the dining table, greeted his father, and prepared to head out again.

Hearing him, Liu Yi quickly poked his head out of the bathroom and loudly instructed, "Remember to take the new phone I bought you, in case I need to find you!

"And don’t be too flashy if something happens. Don’t forget your current situation!

"You have to know that no matter how good your martial arts are, you can still be taken down by a kitchen knife. No matter how awesome your superpower is, it can’t stop modern guns and cannons. Don’t go looking for trouble! I don’t want to see you in prison the next time we meet!"

Although his words weren’t the most pleasant, weren’t they brimming with fatherly love?

Standing by the door, Liu Zimo replied earnestly without the slightest hint of impatience, "Got it, Dad. I’m not a kid anymore!

"I’m off. I’ll be back for dinner tonight!"

After saying that, he shut the door and left.

"This kid feels a bit weird today. He’s not going out to fool around, is he?" Liu Yi muttered softly to himself before putting his toothbrush back into his mouth, earnestly brushing up, down, left, and right.

He wasn’t worried about his son’s safety in the slightest. He knew the son he raised better than anyone else. Zimo wasn’t the type to bully the weak, nor would he run amok just because he had superpowers.

What Liu Yi was truly worried about was what might happen if someone actively provoked his son. Jokes aside, the kid could crush solid iron balls with a single hand! Who could withstand that? He just hoped no one would be blind enough to actively look for trouble with his son. Otherwise, the three of them would probably have to pack up and skip town again.

Outside the residential area gates.

Liu Zimo hailed a cab and went straight to the real estate agency he had contacted beforehand. After signing the relevant contracts, he took the keys and the copy of the property deed. Guided by the agent, he arrived at the villa district in the East Suburb.

There wasn’t much discrepancy from the property information introduced on the agency’s website. The villa was located in the suburbs. While it wasn’t the most luxurious villa complex in Luozhou City, it covered a vast area. The distance between each villa was a full kilometer, providing excellent privacy.

Moreover, the villa had three floors above ground and three floors below. The basement area was more than twice as large as the ground floors, measuring over seven hundred square meters. The ventilation and drainage systems were fully equipped. Since it was a secondhand house, the basement had already been renovated by the previous owner, who had converted the floors into a gym, a game room, and a home theater.

The reason Liu Zimo chose this place was not only because it was extremely close to the Provincial Agricultural Academy’s planting base, but also because he had taken a liking to its spacious basement.

Having found a reliable renovation company through the agency, Liu Zimo placed a blueprint on the desk.

"Manager Liu, if we renovate according to the design on this blueprint, roughly how long will it take to finish?"

The renovation boss, referred to as Manager Liu, glanced down at the blueprint, his expression instantly turning somewhat peculiar.

"Little boss, are you sure you’re not joking with me?

"You actually want to completely encase the entire villa in aerospace-grade alloy steel?

"Are you planning to live in it or imprison someone in it?

"And this basement... it’s one thing to knock through all three floors, but to reinforce the floors and all the surrounding walls with alloy steel as well... This..."

Manager Liu didn’t even know what to say anymore. Did rich people really play this hardcore nowadays? This was purely having more money than brains!

Setting aside whether the villa would even be habitable after such modifications, the renovation costs alone would be enough to buy three villas of equivalent value in full! Aerospace-grade alloy steel cost millions per ton. Just the material fees for retrofitting the entire villa and basement would easily run up to twenty or thirty million. He really couldn’t fathom what the young man was trying to achieve. Was he just messing with him?

"Manager Liu, you don’t need to worry about what I’m using it for. You just need to tell me if you can do it and how long it will take!" Liu Zimo said straightforwardly, adopting an imposing and deep-pocketed posture. "As for the material and renovation costs, just give me a quote. I won’t short you a single cent!

"If you’re worried, I can even pay a thirty percent deposit upfront!"

He thought, "What a filthy rich tycoon!"

Manager Liu was instantly convinced by Liu Zimo’s wealthy and imposing demeanor. He lowered his head and earnestly studied the blueprint again, then pulled out a calculator and began furiously crunching the numbers.

A moment later, Manager Liu looked up at Liu Zimo.

"Materials and labor included, that will be twenty-three million. Boss Liu, are you sure you want to go ahead with this?"