bookrandom Chapter 9: The Beginning of a Pattern
Chapter 9: The Beginning of a Pattern
Xu Mo woke up again at night.
This time, it wasn't due to physical heat or discomfort, but rather a deep-seated vigilance, like a delicate string being gently plucked. He quietly rose, without disturbing the silence of the night, and slowly moved to the window.
Outside the window, the town remained shrouded in boundless darkness and silence. Starlight barely outlined the distorted silhouettes of the buildings; the streets were deserted, devoid of any unusual sounds or moving figures. The eerie scene of the massive westward migration of zombies lingered in Xu Mo's heart like a thorn, preventing him from finding complete peace. Only now, confirming the continued deathly silence, did his taut nerves begin to relax slightly.
The best news was that nothing unusual was found. Xu Mo returned to the sofa covered with sheets, lay down again, and quickly fell asleep once more. This time, he slept more soundly than the previous nights.
......
As expected, the sun shone brightly in the early morning.
Xu Mo opened his eyes and immediately began to carefully assess his body. His mind was clear, his body temperature was normal, his throat felt comfortable, and even the deep-seated fatigue that had lingered since yesterday had significantly lessened.
"No more fever." Xu Mo confirmed this, and a weight was lifted from his heart. This undoubtedly indicated that his body had successfully overcome the fierce bacterial infection, and his immune system had gained the upper hand, entering a phase of rapid repair. A significant improvement was now a certainty.
After a simple breakfast, Xu Mo was in a good mood.
After a short rest, he once again set up his stance for stance training on the cleared space in the center of the room.
With feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bent in a squat, chest in, back straight, head held high, arms wrapped around... a series of key points flowed through my mind, and my body adjusted accordingly.
After several practice sessions yesterday, Xu Mo felt that his body seemed to have developed a vague memory of the posture. Although the familiar soreness and trembling still came quickly from his thighs and shoulders, Xu Mo clearly felt that he could maintain the posture more easily than yesterday and for a longer period of time.
Sweat continued to trickle down his forehead and temples, but he remained focused, concentrating all his attention on his breathing and the subtle control of his muscles. He tried to find that state of "relaxed yet not slack, tense yet not rigid" through perseverance.
There are no shortcuts to martial arts training; it all comes down to "diligent and unwavering practice." Only through consistent, day-to-day dedication can one achieve a qualitative leap from the outside in. Xu Mo understood this principle deeply, especially in this perilous apocalyptic world, where any improvement in strength could potentially save his life at a crucial moment in the future.
After one session of standing meditation, Xu Mo was drenched in sweat and his muscles ached, but his spirits were exceptionally high. He could clearly perceive his progress, and even the slightest progress was enough to bring him tremendous encouragement.
He rested, replenished his fluids, and once his strength was restored, he got up again and repeated the previous actions.
The entire morning passed quietly in this monotonous yet fulfilling cycle. Sunlight streamed through the window, slowly moving across the floor, illuminating his trembling yet steadfast figure.
As the midday sun grew increasingly scorching, Xu Mo finally finished his morning practice. He wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling the gradual increase in strength within his body.
He walked to the window and looked out at the still desolate town, but his gaze was no longer filled with the anxiety and confusion he had before.
Xu Mo spent the afternoon in a cycle of standing meditation, resting, and then standing meditation again. Only when the sunlight outside the window softened and the sky was tinged with a warm orange-red hue did Xu Mo slowly finish his practice, ending his day's session.
Wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, Xu Mo felt a sense of relief, though his body was tired, from the exertion. More importantly, after a full day of focused practice, his understanding of his unique ability had become clearer and deeper.
As consciousness sank into his mind, the invisible countdown clearly showed that there were less than two hours left until the next "opening of the door".
It's time to plan our next move.
Unlike the confusion and eagerness he felt before opening the door the previous two times, Xu Mo was much calmer this time. He not only considered what he needed, but also began to try to summarize the patterns behind that door.
"The first two times, I opened this sturdy security door here," Xu Mo's gaze fell on the metal door in the room that served as an "anchor point." "Behind this door are houses with similar security doors."
This discovery led him to a hypothesis: "Are the types of the two 'doors' corresponding to each other?"
This conjecture gave him a jolt. If this rule held true, then he could influence or even determine the environment behind the door to some extent by choosing different types of "doors" in the real world!
"What if... I found and opened a glass door?" Xu Mo continued, following this line of thought, "Where are large glass doors usually installed?"
The answer is almost obvious—stores! Convenience stores, supermarkets, clothing stores, and even… pharmacies! Most of the street-facing shops use glass facades to display their goods.
Similarly, if he opens a heavy metal door with an observation window, could there be a warehouse or factory workshop behind it? If he opens an ordinary wooden door, there might still be residential buildings behind it, but if he opens a fire door with professional markings, could there be an office or even a medical institution behind it?
This underlying pattern seemed to open a door for Xu Mo to utilize his abilities more efficiently. This meant he was no longer passively accepting random locations, but could actively seek out specific types of "doors" to acquire the necessary resources in a targeted manner!
"The store..." Xu Mo murmured to himself, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
What does a store mean? It means a more concentrated selection of food, drinking water, daily necessities, and maybe even tools! If he's lucky enough to find an outdoor gear store or a hardware store, the gains will be immeasurable!
The goal instantly became clear. Xu Mo felt that before activating his ability again, he needed to find a suitable glass door in this town that was likely to correspond to a shop and use it as a new "anchor point"!
However, Xu Mo quickly calmed down. His body was still recovering, and his strength was far from its peak. The potential risks of rashly venturing out to find and clear a new building were too high. Moreover, he had already blocked the exit of the house with furniture, making it difficult to clear in the short term.
"There's no need to rush," Xu Mo told himself.
The immediate priority is to verify whether this conjecture is correct.
Xu Mo raised his head, his gaze falling on the staircase leading to the third floor. He remembered that there was an ordinary interior wooden door on the third floor. If the rule of "corresponding door types" held true, then opening that wooden door would lead to another room with a similar wooden door, most likely still some kind of living space, rather than a shop.